


The Life on Elysium

by Shroomberton



Category: Deponia
Genre: Dorks having crushes, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Gay, Goodbye Deponia spoilers, Hospital themes, In the beginning though, M/M, My First Fanfic, Recovery, Romance, Spoilers, Timeskips, Ulysses gets mentioned in the first chapters, confused over Feelings, deponia - Freeform, english isn't my first language, headcannon, injuries, slight Toni/Goal action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-06-02 21:44:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 25,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19450105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shroomberton/pseuds/Shroomberton
Summary: After the Deponian arrived on Elysium everything went back to how things should behowever soon someone arrived on Elysium that made everything a mess





	1. Someone unexpected

It has been now exactly two weeks ever since the Deponian arrived on Elysium

It has been two weeks since Rufus let go, falling down back onto Deponia as both Argus and Cletus were still stuck, after repeatedly trying to convince goal that they are Rufus.

Cletus had given himself out as Rufus as well. And succeeded with his act. Goal was the one who had helped him, helping him out of the motor. However this would mean that he has to be playing along with a role as someone that he never was, everyone believed him, besides Goal.

Goal wasn't stupid, she knew that the Rufus that came on Elysium wasn't the Rufus she knew, he never was so pale, his acting never so odd and his posture never this straight. Also the real Rufus never was that organized.

Goal had thought about her words wisely, multiple times even and decided that on this very day she would stop acting like the naive and stupid Girl. She would finally tell Cletus the truth

Goal had thought about her act carefully. Calling 'Rufus' over to her own living quarters. Normally they would have moved in together- however 'Rufus' asked about Cletuses living quarters, knowing that they are empty, he took the chance to claim it as 'his own'

As soon as Cletus entered Goals house, he realized that something was wrong. Very wrong in fact. The Mood seemed to drop, so did Goals happy smile that first greeted him so warmly. As soon as the door shut close however, Goal started the thing that she had called him over for.

Goal started to call him out, telling him how she knew that things were off, naming each and single thing that had caught her eye. Cletus tried to interrupt her, trying to save himself from this situation but Goal didn't let him go with his plan

it was obvious for Cletus that he had lost this, and there is no turning back to this. She found out about his secret sooner than he had expected- but he knows she isn't dumb- he should have guessed it

Goal was just about to get really started- however the red-haired girl couldn't finish as she heard a firm knock onto her door. Causing her to turn her head quickly to the dark oak front door of her own home.

Goal and Cletus looked at each other for a second before Goal walked towards the the front door, twisting the doorknob before opening it not long afterwards. 

To her surprise it was one of the organon- or how she should say: ex-organon, which previously worked for Argus. This already caused her to raise her eyebrows in surprise “yes?” she asked calmly to the man in front of her

The Person was seemed to be in a hurry, however tried to be as calm as possible, that's how Argus always wanted them to be, no matter how the situation was, they had to stay 'cool'

“ms. Goal, Your father would like to speak with you and Rufus in the nearby Hospital. A problem has accrued- sadly I do not have any information about it. Please follow me.” he reported. Before Goal was even able to say something, the man already started to walk the direction of the hospital.

Panic began to build up inside of Goal- did anything happen to her father perhaps? Goal began to worry and acted quickly, she grabbed onto Cletuses sleeve and started to follow the man with quick steps. If it really was as important as things sounded like, there was no time they could loose

“Goal wait-” Cletus started to speak, trying to keep up with the quick steps, he was still shocked about the whole situations that just happened, the fact that he was exposed by her, leaving a big risk that Goal is going to tell it everyone and his whole life going to crash in front of his eyes. Cletus always cared about his image, and that isn't a secret. 

However, he just received a glare from her as soon as he spoke to her, her glare filled with a almost scary coldness and seriousness, that it caused Cletus to have goosebumps “Quiet Rufus” she mumbled before turning her head back forward. The way she said Rufus caused Cletus to gulp a bit, 

he knew she would be mad but he wasn't prepared for that at all, all he can do currently is to follow her to the hospital for whatever reason. He can feel how she was worried. He doesn't blame her.

Ulysses was already waiting at the entrance of the Hospital, wearing his normal uniform, which is pretty uncommon ever since this deponian appeared on Elysium. He was pretty much lost in his thoughts, he wasn't sure how it was possible or how the two will react to the thing he had called them over out of nowhere

But as soon as he heard steps coming towards him he turned his head towards the noise quickly “oh Goaly, there you are” he spoke as he turned completely towards the two that he requested for. He tried his best to not let anything seem like things were wrong. He knows what has happened will pretty much change everything

“i hope I didn't interrupt anything” he added soon afterwards, tilting his head a bit to the side, Goal just shook her head quickly, letting go of Cletuses Sleeve as she crossed her arms “no, you didn't father, however why are you bringing us here? What is so important?” Goal asked, it was obvious that Goal was still pretty shaken up

can you blame her though? She pretty much called Cletus out, only to be called to the hospital urgently. Something seemed wrong and it was causing her almost to panic.

Her father only nodded slowly as he began to speak again “it is quite Important. Now please come with me, you too Cletus” Ulysses added, turning around before starting to walk towards the entrance of the building, causing both Goal and Cletus to look at each other very quickly

“did you tell him?” Cletus whispered in a hurry

Goal only shook her head quickly “i didn't-” 

Ulysses cleared his throat, causing the two young adults to jump a bit before he explained in a calm voice “it will all be explained. Now come.” he ordered as he began to walk into the building.

Cletus and Goal followed had no other choice than to obey and follow Ulysses in a quick pace, pretty much ignoring any kind of look they might receive from nurses or doctors alike.

However they were soon led to a hospital room, which two ex-organon soldiers stood by, almost like they were securing it. What in gods name is going on

However. This question would soon be answered as Ulysses opened the door, offering an open door for Cletus and Goal to quickly step in before they froze. Ulysses made sure to close the door afterwards, standing by the door as he watched the two young adults to stand in front of a hospital bed. Both of them were starring at what was laying there right in front of them. 

Completely shocked at what they saw 

“we have gotten reports down on Deponia that had us confused, I sent two to inspect soon after we had gotten the Report, that's how we found him, he is barely alive, we don't know how he survived but he did..somehow. Ulysses explained as all three now looked at the Person tied onto the bed.

Cletuses face was pale, shock and confusion were almost written on his face. “w-what..”

while Goal was tearing up, holding a hand close to her mouth, as she tried to process everything that was going on. Her hand and body shaking almost like a leaf in a stormy night.

Machines hooked onto him, obviously unconscious and not in the greatest state that anyone could be in, however it was obvious who it was.

Rufus.

His skin was paler, bandages wrapped around his body in various places where machines weren't hooked on.

He seemed to also have lost weight. A lot of it even.

However it didn't change the fact that it was Rufus

It was really him.

He survived the fall.


	2. We need a plan

A few days have already passed since Goal and Cletus had the argument in which Goal had exposed him, but now with Rufus appearing out of nowhere again, they knew that things couldn't stay the same

Goal took the time wisely,she spend time with a friend of hers, Toni. After arriving on Elysium she became quite fond of Toni, even starting to become really good friends with her. Of course she couldn't tell Toni anything that had happened yet, so she often had to let Toni sit in the unknown.

Goal couldn't even look at Cletus this whole time without having the urge to yell at him about how he took the chance of a better life away from Rufus and ruining everything he had worked for since he was young.

Since the discovery of Rufus in the Hospital bed, Goal had felt horrible about him, he must have been in enough pain the whole time. And thinking about the fact that he was probably unconscious the whole time only made things worse. Her guts twisted at the thought. 

However. nobody knows if he really was unconscious the whole time or if he just passed out after a few days, Goal didn't get any information out from the nurses or doctors that had treated him, they didn't even know if it was 'Cletus' 

However, she soon had a brilliant idea- or well brilliant in her eyes

Cletus had almost begged Goal to not let his cover blow- only causing her idea to bloom to a better and better one

if Cletus can fake being Rufus, then Rufus fakes to be Cletus like he did before

and if they keep the act up long enough, until Rufus recovered fully, when he gets through of course, they could easily change back 

'Rufus' has been quite a positive influence on Elysium, starting a scandal about Cletus being him and maybe ruining everything for Rufus the moment he wakes up is something that Goal wanted to avoid at all cost, even if Cletus will think the plan will be horrible, it had worked once, why not a second time? Besides, the least Cletus can do is make up for what he has done.

Goal needed to think of her words wisely, and once again, she decided to call Cletus to her living quarters. She noticed how Cletus hesitated firstly in the call- but he quickly let go and soon arrived at her front door, of course still inside of Rufuses clothes.

Goal had calmly offered him a place on her Couch. Which he accepted soon as he closed the front door. And now. She began to explain her plan

she could see every detail in Cletuses face and how he didn't like the plan in the beginning already, she can already hear him complain about it. However she is having none of that. 

Goal of course could have guessed that Cletus thought the plan was horrible, of course she did, she knows him well enough. However, before Cletus could even say anything, she quickly placed a fier onto his lips, telling him to stay quiet as she calmly explained her points on why this plan could work out. 

One of the many points could be, that he could easily go back to his past life- of course with keeping in mind of what has happened. However Cletus would do everything to get his old life back.

Cletus turned his head away for a second as he thought, depending on when Rufus wakes up and how bad the injuries really are, it could not take as long as it really needed to be. The only thing the Doctors did share were that they could fix pretty much the worst things so far, so all he would need is a lot of bed rest.

Goal could easily take him to her place, fix him up, help him recover and tada- in a blink of an eye he would be back to who he was and he would be out of those stinky and dirty clothes

that hit the spot.

Cletus let out a tiny sigh before he turned his head back to her and agreed on the plan. Causing Goal to smile in success

as soon as both settled down for the plan, she made sure to contact her father about it, which didn't take as much as explaining than she first thought, since he agreed on it as well rather soon without complaining back at her. He trusted her with this

another thing she had to make sure of was to contact the hospital. Which she of course did. She had thought about a story, quickly informing the doctor and nurses that the patient they were treating was in fact Cletus. However she also requested that. If he does wake up that they are supposed to call either Ulysses or her. Since the fall could have caused any kind of memory loss, and before the hell breaks down, she wants to make sure that one of them is there firstly. Since Cletus knew Goal from a very young age and Ulysses as well.

However, talking about the risk really settled in. what if he doesn't remember anything? What if he forgot everything? She has to think positive. Positive thoughts.

Having all set down for now really relaxed her. Causing Goal to also feel somewhat better, but yet she continued to worry. Goal continued to spend the days with Toni. However soon Toni caught up with the odd behavior that Goal showed and asked her about it. 

Goal explained everything what happened the past few days. Toni- of course first seemed to be about to loose it- however seeing how Goal was about to panic because of it made her take a deep breath- she remembers her meditation still.

Goal was rather surprised how Toni was willing to help out in any way- she was really surprised. Proving the point that Toni isn't as bad as Rufus always said she was!

Maybe things will go much smoother than she first thought they would be


	3. Confusion

There was a endless darkness

however through the darkness he could hear a faint sound

beep

beep

beep

a faint beeping noises caused the man to slowly open his eyes

his eyes were burning, burning badly as he opened them for what felt like years. His vision was blurry- almost like he was looking in muddy water

after having his eyes half closed and slowly getting used to the light inside his room, his vision started to sharpen more and more, discovering that he was in a light blue and white room..

where in the god loving fuck is he?

Rufus doesn't know where he is, but soon could figure out- after his eyes adjusting more and more to the light, that he seemed to be in a hospital. Laying flat on his back on a matress.

Rufus tried to sit up but quickly felt a stabbing pain in his whole body which caused him to wince in pain, shutting his eyes quickly soon afterwards and leaning back down a bit, wrapping his arm around himself at the same time.

His throat felt like it was on fire after letting out even the tiniest bit of noises, he couldn't speak and moving felt horrible, was he in hell? Is hell just a fancy looking hospital room?

His eyes opened as soon as he heard a door open, turning his head slowly towards the direction where he heard the noise to see what it really was. Standing in a door frame was a young nurse, short blonde hair with a worried and surprised expression as he saw that the man was awake.

“o-oh- you are awake!” she quickly stuttered out, seeming to take a step back before she quickly turned her head to the side, calling out a name which he didn't quite catch “-you have to call ms, Goal-”

ms Goal? Rufus stopped listening as soon as he heard the name. Am I on Elysium? Was his second thought as he continued to stare at the door in which the worried nurse was standing in 

this second thought caused him to move his head around a bit, only to inspect the room a bit further. It was a hospital room, very clean, flowers were standing on a table next to a machine that had a wire hooked in his arm, the window to the side showed the beautiful clear sky that was outside, the sun was shining into the room as well, showing that it was the sun rising.

If he really isn't wrong it must be Elysium.

He was finally on Elysium.

As he continued to inspect the room, almost like a little kid first time being in a candy store. He noticed that the nurse had walked in and walked towards him, of course closing the door after her as she stepped in. soon standing next to the bed “Hello” she said kindly and warmly, almost in a whisper even, causing Rufuses eyes to focus on her quickly, only confirming that he was in fact on Elysium.

She had a hairband like Goal as well, her clothing style was also very Elysium like and she didn't seem like a Deponian either!

If Rufus wouldn't be stuck on this bed, he would jump into the air of happiness, all he could do is to weakly smile however

it didn't take the nurse, which was ordered to call Goal, long to contact her, it was rather early but Goal luckily picked up

As soon as Goal received the call., she stood up from the Breakfast table that Toni had made with her and quickly left Tonis house, only to sprint to Cletus home, ring him awake and taking him to the hospital with her.

Rufus woke up  
still weak but he is awake

Goal couldn't be happier.

Together with Cletus, the way to the hospital was almost the easiest thing in the last few days, this time not being worried. This time she went to the Hospital she wasn't worried, like the countless times she did when she was visiting Rufus, feeling like her heart is about to drop whenever she saw him in that sleeping state.

as soon as Goal and Cletus were bought to the room that Rufus was in, Goal opened the door as quickly as possible, causing Rufus, who was sitting peacefully in his bed to jump a tiny bit at the sudden noise, turning his head quickly before freezing as he saw who it really was

“Goal!” he said weakly, after not being able to speak for what felt like months, it was understandable that his voice was very weak- also considering he almost died also.

Tears were building up in Goals eyes, happy tears, happy to see that he was okay and could even talk. She hurried towards the hospital bed, only stopping right in front of it to get a good glance of Rufus. She cant describe how happy she is

Rufus was also happy to see Goal again, he could feel tears starting to well up in his eyes as he tried to reach for Goal. Understanding this- Goal quickly leaned towards him and wrapped her arms carefully around the man. Embracing him softly as Rufus rested his head onto her shoulder. Burying his face into it even, before shooting a glance towards the door. He so happy that he first didn't realize that Cletus, who was in his clothes- was standing in the door way, causing him to spott the other man as his smile quickly faded.

“oh god Rufus...” Goal stuttered out as she slowly broke the embrace, before pulling a chair, which was standing next to the bed, to herself. She sat down quickly, only to rub her eyes as she continued to speak “I-I can't believe you survived- how are you?” Goal was completely overwhelmed with emotions, happiness, worry and concern were building up like a roller coaster going up in her.

Rufus tried to focused all of his attention on her, he can deal with Cletus later, seeing Goal so happy right now was something that had made his heart flutter, not in a bad way of course “I am fine I guess. Just in a lot of pain, but that isn't something I can't deal with” he said, grinning a tiny bit as he winked at her  
he remembered things, that's good. Very good in fact

“Besides, the nurse that was here a few minutes ago told me that I seemingly got through all the test smoothly and that the worst was over. I guess I am just stuck here until I am fully healed” he said- almost mumbling even, it was obvious that he really didn't like this already,

Goal chuckle a bit before smiling warmly at him, her eyes still glassy from her just tearing up a few seconds ago “hey. It isn't that bad. It could be worst” she said as she wiped her eyes to see him a bit better thought her glassy eyes, since it did cause her vision to get all blurry.

The two continued to chat a bit, leaving Cletus in an awkward position as he waited and waited, he didn't want to be here actually, it is wasting his time. But after what felt like hours, Rufus started to ask Goal something “now, all good things aside, why is he here and why is he in my clothes.” he said in a serious tone as he pointed his eyes towards Cletus

oh no-

“hey. I don't want to be in those clothes either.” Cletus responded with a huff, causing Goal to give him a slight glare before she turned back to Rufus, folding her hands on her lap as she took a deep breath. Well- she could have guessed she had some explaining to do

“well, after you let go, Cletus gave himself out to be you, causing him to be stuck in those clothes after he arrived on Elysium, however, before you jump out of your skin. I go a plan” she said calmly, raising her hand to show that Rufus should still hold his words back for a moment “until you fully recover,you got to pretend to be Cletus-” Goal got interrupted by Rufus making a tiny, what seemed like an offended gasp

“you expect me to do what now-” 

“ I am not finished.” Goal interrupted Rufus, only to then continue her sentence shortly after 

“how I said, you have to pretend to be Cletus until you fully recover, after you recovered you and Cletus will switch clothes and you two can be back to normal” Goal finally finished her sentence, looking at Rufus to see some sort of expression on his face. Rufuses face was rather shocked before stuttering out his next words 

“you like we did in the Hotel and later-” Rufus started, but stopped as he saw Goal nodded with a tiny smile “exactly, do you think you will be able to do that? Thanks to Cletus to got somewhat of a good name here on Elysium, I am sure you want to keep that positive influence” Goal said, trying to get Rufus to agree on the plan as well, and that is where she hit the jackpot once again, she knows the boys to well 

“for a good life on here? With already a good status? And all I have to do is to be pretending to be a snob? Count me in, I'm sure I can keep that acting up!” he sound proudly as he formed his hand into a fist and bumped it against his chest- softly however “I am THE Rufus, I always take on challenges, challenges are afraid of me after all.” Rufus added, causing Goal to only smile brighter before laughing a tiny bit as well!

He managed to fulfill his dream

He is on Elysium with Goal

Cletus rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms seeming to be quite annoyed with everything at this moment “fine fine, did we now settle everything, can I go home now? You were interrupting me” Cletus asked, raising his eyebrows as he heard Rufus chuckle as both Goal and him looked at him

“Busy with what, admiring my clothes?” Rufus said jokingly, causing Cletus to groan and put a hand against his face 

“no. they are disgusting and smelly. Like you” he scuffed and turned around. Leaving now Goal and Rufus alone in the room as he walked out of the hospital, he didn't want to deal with this, not only is he still stuck in those clothes, no he also has to see Rufus pretending to be him and probably ruining his future life.

Cletus will hate every single day of it.

And if Rufus dares to fuck up he will never forgive him for it.


	4. First day of Choas

“you want me to do WHAT now?!” Cletus almost yelled as he starred at Goal

“i want you to take Rufus in your care.” Goal answered coldly as he sipped on her Tea that he had prepared for her, he thought she was coming her for a nice time, but he was wrong

“Goal you can't be serious, isn't it punishment enough that I have to pretend to be him, that I have to see him being me and that I now have to let him live in MY HOME?” Cletus said, raising his hands in complete frustration, how can she be serious. Goal seemed only more annoyed by the way Cletus responded

“Cletus. You took the life he had almost in his hands. This is the least you can do. Or do you want me to say that you are-” Goal said, only to be interrupted by Cletus letting out a big groan as he sunk back in his seat 

“God fucking dammit.” he cursed under his breath before placing a hand onto his head “Fine.” he said in defeat, he knew he couldn't win, either he takes in that monkey or he will have his whole life ruined by the woman he once wanted to marry

“I knew you would understand, and see it like that, Rufus isn't that bad of a roommate-”  
“nice joke.” Cletus interrupted Goal as he gave her a glare from behind his hand “can we now stop discussing this. Its settled. Please lets just shut up about it.” Cletus said, picking up his cup of coffee as he took a sip of it 

“of course.” Goal said with a tiny smile.

Today was the big day, one month after Rufus finally woke up it was the day he will be released from the hospital. 

Cletus wasn't looking forward to it, he called this day 'the day where my privacy will be gone' he waited for the nurses to help Rufus change into his clothes and to help him out the hospital, Rufus needed help with moving still.

Cletus was lost in thoughts as he thought about the last moments he will be alone, before he heard the doors open “Mr. Rufus, Cletus is now ready” said one of the nurses while the a different helped Rufus out the door, he was offered to have crutches for help, but Rufus declined, he will get through it without them anyways. 

“ah- thank you” Cletus said, wanting to cringe after being called Rufus again, god he hates being called that “thank you for your work” he mumbled soon after as he looked at Rufus

he had seen him in his clothes already once, but seeing him once again in them made Cletuses guts twist, he is ruining his clothes with his disgusting body, the moment they switch back he will make sure to wash those clothes three times on the highest setting.

“now Cletus, let me bring you back” Cletus mumbled, as he walked to Rufus, offering his arm to help Rufus say somewhat in his balance and not trip and maybe fall off Elysium once again, not that Cletus wouldn't mind that. “thank you. Rufus.” Rufus said with a grin as he held onto Cletuses arm. Both just wanted to throw up just from that moment, god this is awkward, so awkward.

The walk back to Cletuses house wasn't any better, it was still awkward, none of them said anything, and the people that they passed seem to stare, since it looked like Cletus was taking out Rufus to a date or something like that. But the walk didn't last long. Cletus received his old house back, after request with the points 'Cletus must have still all the stuff, I wouldn't mind moving there' he still can't believe that he actually get through with those points. Cletus unlocked the door and opened it, helping Rufus inside only to hear the Deponian gasp, what the hell is he gasping about?

Rufus looked around inside the house that belonged to Cletus, it was rather, fancy?

Is that the right word?

It was clean, had a lot of wooden furniture, kept in a dark oak like colour, a fireplace and in general was rather pleasing to look at “so. This is famous Cletus-house eh?” Rufus said jokingly as he continued to look around.

Cletus only huffed and looked at him “it's nothing. Don't break or ruin anything here, and don't touch anything either.” Cletus ordered, taking off the coat that he was wearing and put it onto a clothing hanger, same with the hat and goggles and his boots. He even wore Rufuses red and white socks. He looks in every detail, if he has to be Rufus then so be it.

“hey. Cletus?” Rufus asked as he looked at Cletus 

“what is it?” he asked back, raising is eyebrows before Rufus bought a hand to the back of his head “could I maybe have something to drink, I didn't drink anything since this morning” Rufus said,

Cletus only blinked before he shook his head a tiny bit and started to walk towards the open kitchen that he has, its connected with the living room, its easier to watch and cook in the same room after all “since this morning? Rufus its almost 6pm” Cletus said as he took out a glass

“yeah- I know, I never really drank a lot before, I'm used to it.” Rufus answered as he slowly walked to the counter 

“you have it nice here” he mumbled, as he continued to look around, only to then look back at Cletus who help him a clean glass with sparkling water

“thank you, took quite a time to get everything set in, that's why I don't want you to ruin anything here” he said the last part coldly again as Rufus took a sip from his drink

“me? Never. Who do you think I am? Some three year old?” he said sarcastically, making Cletus actually raise his eyebrows

“do you want an honest answer?” he asked, grinning a tiny bit as he crossed his arms and leaned against the counter 

“no, not really. Because whatever it is, you are three times worse MR. snob” Rufus said, grinning a tiny bit more as he chuckled soon after as he saw Cletuses annoyed face once again “believe me, being a snob is better than a filthy rat”

“wow, filthy rat is maybe the nicest insult I ever heard” he grinned and continued to take a sip of his sparkling water, this made Cletus blink and seem to frown “oh?” Cletus wondered but Rufus only shook his head “

it's a different story that isn't relevant right now, what is however is where will I sleep” Rufus said with a bright smile as he stood up, however he stood up a bit too quickly which made him wince a tiny bit, placing a hand onto his back as he rubbed the spot a tiny bit, damn he has to be more careful

“ah yes- sleep, you will have the guest bedroom” Cletus said as he stood up “i will give you some of my clothes too if you need, but the first thing you will do is take a bath.” Cletus said as he walked towards the bathroom door and knocked against it

“here it is if you need it.” Cletus said, only to then point to a different door “this is my bedroom and working area” he added soon before pointing to the last room “and that is your room for now, please keep it clean.” he explained before clapping his hands together “there are towels in the Bathroom. Now go”

Rufus rolled his eyes as he groaned “yes yes, don't rush me” Rufus complained in a mumble as he stumbled to the bathroom. Satisfied that Rufus will take a shower or bath now Cletus walked towards the couch and sat down to leave him be

“if you fell scream.”

“yes mr. snob.”

one and a half hour later Rufus walked out of the bathroom, wearing the suit he got offered earlier, he had hair dried his hair with the hair dryer that was in the bathroom, making it appear rather soft and clean for once “Happy now?” he mumbled as he saw Cletus turn around on the couch to look at him

“very much. I placed clothes in the guest bedroom, sleeping, morning, and so on” Cletus said as he looked back onto the big television he had, he was holding a glass of red wine as he watched T.V.

“you look like a damn snob, has anybody told you that” Rufus mocked him, causing Cletus to roll his eyes and grin “yes. You. More than once today.” he answered, looking over his shoulder to look at him 

“hmhm. I'm going to bed already. I'm just tired” Rufus said as he walked towards the door to his room

“oh..okay then, Goodnight I guess” Cletus said a bit surprised, it was still rather early after all, but considering the whole pain thingy and him not being used to anything than rest it was obvious that his body wasn't really used to a lot of things

“yeah. Goodnight to you too” Rufus mumbled as he stepped into his room, inspecting the clear, light colored room that is now his. The bed is big and comfy looking, he got a closet, a tiny television and a window with curtains, the room is small but very nice. 

If it wouldn't be the fact that every tiny too fast movement hurts Rufus, he would already have thrown himself onto the bed, but instead he sat down on it, only to lay down and realizing how soft and cozy the bed actually is. It almost felt like a damn cloud, much better than anything else on Deponia..

he is in Elysium. He just has to deal with Cletus a bit and then he is finally free.   
He is so near to the life he always wished for.

It didn't take long until Rufus fell into a deep slumber when he was fully lost in thoughts about his bright future that he will have

at around 11 pm, Cletus decided to go to bed as well, it was rather late after all and he didn't really notice how the time passed so quickly. He turned off the Television, placed down the book he was reading at the same time and got up, stretching out his arms as he then let out a tiny yawn.

He was just about to walk to his room as he walked next to Rufuses room. 

He stopped right in front of the door before he decided to opened the door slowly, finding the man sleeping onto the bed, slightly curled up as he peacefully slept- almost like a stone.

Cletus noticed that Rufus must have just laid on the bed without really going fully into the bed, which meant no blanket whatsoever.

Cletus let out a tiny sigh and stepped into the room and took an extra blanket that was laying on a chair and laid it over Rufus before stepping out the room as quietly as possible, same with the door, he closed it as quiet as he possibly could to not awake him

the way to his bedroom wasn't so far, walking into it before letting out a deep sigh

Goal told him to take care of him. oh He will take care of him

maybe it quickens up things so things can go like they used to be


	5. Breakfast

It wasn't new for Rufus to wake up in a different bed here and there, however this bed was surely different, it still felt like a cloud the morning after, god he would marry this bed this instant but he doesn't want to take the step too quickly.

Rufus opened his eyes slowly as he got woken up by the bright sunlight that shined in the warm bedroom. 

Rufus groaned a tiny bit before he sat up in his bed, before quickly placing a hand on his side as he got assaulted by the familiar stabbing pain. He completely forgot the, thanks to the bed, that he has to get things done in a slower pace, reminding himself also that he was at Cletuses house and that he has to pretend to be Cletus again.

God he doesn't look forward to that at all.

Rufus turned around, placing his feet down onto the carpeted floor before he stood up and walked towards the Closet- to his surprise Cletus already organized it! There were clothes for him all over the place, neatly folded as well.

A quiet snort escaped Rufus as he saw how organized it really was, if he would just mess it up he could make Cletus explode- but lets not do that now- even if he would love to see Cletus explode  
it didn't take Rufus that long to change into the white and teal colored clothes that Cletus is so famous of, he has to admit though, that it isn't so bad to wear, the material is rather soft and feels nice, just the cut is annoying to him, especially that weird high collar. It just looks stupid

Rufus opened the door from the guest bedroom before immediately being hit by a smell- it wasn't a bad one, it was delicious and very pleasant smell. Rufuses head immediately turned around before he saw Cletus in the kitchen, making breakfast apparently while listening to a little radio that was placed on the kitchen counter as well, it was mostly the news and a weather forecast before it switched back to the newest hits of what Rufus believes to be an Elysian singer.

Hearing a door being opend, Cletus turned his head quickly towards the direction that Rufus was standing in, before giving him a tiny nod and turning back around “Morning” he said while he continued to do something with the frying pan- Rufus couldn't quite tell with his still tired eyes. “Morning snobby” Rufus grinned as he spoke with his tired voice before walking to the Kitchen counter as well, to see what Cletus is doing

after hearing the nickname 'Snobby' Cletus was close to just slam the hot frying pan into Rufuses face, but he has himself under control “watch it. I am making breakfast for you, I wouldn't mind letting you starve either.” Rufuses eyes were mainly fixated on what Cletus was doing, it seemed to be scrambled eggs while on a different frying pan were pieces of Bacon.

Rufus was somewhat surprised to hear the answer he got from Cletus, not about the starving part, he was used to that, no but more the part in which he said that he is making breakfast for him. Could it be that Cletus maybe knows what happened last time to Tonis kitchen when he tried to make scrambled eggs? Or is it just kindness?

Rufus would point his finger towards the first option if he was being serious “oh...uh thank you, thats-” Rufus started before being cut off by Cletus who just laughed a tiny bit “I got told to take care of you, so I am doing this, now stop, we both know how much you suck at showing how grateful you are at times” he said before scooping the scrambled eggs and some of the bacon onto a plate and handing it Rufus

“here, you have to eat so you at least gain somewhat weight, you look a damn skeleton and I don't want to continue pretending to be you. So you better recover quickly.” he said, letting go off the plate as he felt Rufus holding it now on his own “bread, toast and fruit salad are on the table” he shortly added before turning his back to Rufus, carrying the plates and pans to the sink to start cleaning them

Rufus was somewhat shocked at the reaction and attitude he received from Cletus, he isn't used to that kind of...chillness? Is it even chillness? Is that the word? Lets just go with that- chillness from Cletus, almost forcing himself to be kind to Rufus

“well, I guess I will dig in, to be honest I didn't expect this from you at all” he admitted, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs on the dark oak table that is Cletuses kitchen table.

“ha ha. I'm not that bad you know” Cletus mumbled as he continued to clean the things he used to make the breakfast “I'm only his moody to people like who, which try to piss me off because they think its fun.” he mumbled while Rufus began to eat, pretty much ignoring what he even said right now since Rufuses thoughts were mainly on the food

“wow, Cletus this is really good” Rufus said out of nowhere as he just finished his first bit of the sandwich he made himself- which was just the scrambled eggs with the bacon on two pieces of toast. Why complicated when you can just put it between two toasts?

Cletus stopped for a tiny moment before he really processed that Rufus did compliment his cooking right now “thanks I guess” he said, a tiny smile forming on his lips but his tone didn't change, he was sounding a bit annoyed, but he wasn't at all, it made him smile but he didn't want Rufus to know that.

“did you already eat something?” Rufus asked after he finished another bite, turning his head around to see Cletus nodding a tiny bit, having his back still to Rufus 

“yeah, I'm awake since a while” Cletus responded, finishing the last plate before drying his hands at a piece of cloth that was hanging next to the sink, also fitting with the whole color scheme of Cletuses eating-living room area. Cletus opened another cabinet, only to pull out a glass and placing it down next to Rufus, only to then grab a bottle of Orange Juice and started pouring it into the glass

while Cletus poured in the Juice for him, Rufus felt... different

he had a warm feeling in his chest, it was a comforting one

maybe living with Cletus wont be so bad- even if he is only doing this out of Kindness- or the fact that he wants desperately things to be as they were

maybe Rufus will keep his chaotic nature a bit in the back, he doesn't want to ruin this rare event of Cletus being actually kind


	6. Shock

for a week and a half, each day started like this, Cletus making breakfast for both him and Rufus, however due to Rufus still being told to take it easy, both of them couldn't really do much, however that wasn't as bad as it sounds like, in fact it helped

it helped building up a friendship between the two of them.

The insults were slowly disappearing, besides here and there as a joke and for the laughs, but they weren't meant as serious as before anymore.

Both of them actually found out that they aren't that bad like they first thought they were of themselves.

Cletus was very pleased with the fact that Rufus at least somewhat tried to keep the house tidy, he expected actually worse from Rufus, but this really surprised him, together with the fact that Rufus even ate normally.

Cletus even cooked together with Rufus one evening which was actually funnier than he thought it would be, even the puns that Rufus made about Italian food weren't as bad as he imagined them to be. However, just for safety reason he didn't let Rufus on the oven or anywhere near which could let an explosion happen.

Rufus once even made breakfast for Cletus when he woke up way earlier than Cletus which was a pleasant surprise for Cletus, he was more of the cooking and baking person, but receiving something back for once was...very nice.

Cletus actually imagined everything much worse, but he really didn't mind having Rufus on his side ...he could have sworn that he was insane for that statement but he really meant it!

Maybe he is just expecting things to go as smooth as they were

ever since Rufus first arrived, Toni and Goal shared a lot of time. Goal even slept over at her place a lot- so did Toni at Goals place.

One day however, both Toni and Goal even surprise visited them in the afternoon. This sudden visit caught both Cletus and Rufus off guard, but they weren't so bothered about it since both Toni and Goal seemed rather happy on that day.

Maybe something good happened? Cletus was pretty sure that Goal is soon going to tell them what will happen anyways since she is almost jumping of joy

“Oh, what a pleasant surprise” Cletus greeted the two young females as he stood next to the door, which he opened of course after the two of them rang his doorbell. Rufus was still sitting on the couch however, still taking things easy- that's what the doctor said and when the doctor says that, why not just listen to him. Its a good life like this anyways..

both of them were just watching something earlier, it was a show that Cletus actually really enjoyed and he obviously tried to drag Rufus into this series as well, Rufus seemed to caught up to the story and actually enjoy it as well- or acted like he did- either way made Cletus feel somewhat happy

“I didn't expect you two here, could have texted me” Cletus added as he crossed his arms with a tiny grin as he leaned against the door frame, only to step out of it so the two ladies could walk in.

Rufus, who was smiling from ear to ear to see Goal again got off the couch as well. It was already noticeable that after the days that Rufus was recovering rather well, since his movements were much smoother and quicker than the first day he woke up! 

“Goal!” Rufus said with a big smile, opening his arms, which Goal did as well, smiling brightly as well, not only about the fact that Rufus seemed to be so fit again!

“Rufus, oh lord look at you” she said happily as both of them hugged each other in a tight embrace, both smiling brightly “yeah yeah, I know, charming and just perfect” Rufus said with a grin as he let go of Goal, causing Goal to chuckle a tiny bit as she raised her hand to her mouth

“hey, I meant the fact that you seem to recover so well” Goal only responded with a smile, causing Rufus to smile back and blush a bit, only to then turn his head to Toni and nod “Toni.” he said.

Toni only nodded back and greeted him back “Rufus.” It was clear to everyone that Rufus was more excited to see Goal than Toni. 

“so, what brings you two here, you two are all smiling and happy, did anything happen I don't know about?” Cletus asked, crossing his arms once again a bit as he inspected the two women in front of him, only then Goal clapped her hands together “well, you both probably noticed that me and Toni have been spending a lot of time together”

“yes?” the two men almost said in choir

however, soon Goal reached her hand to hold onto Tonis, now Cletus caught up and raised his eyebrows, only to then hear what he considered something, that would have happened one day or another

“and..we decided to take it a step further. We are now officially dating.”

this came as a shock to Rufus, who's smile was quickly fading away, almost like a sudden thunder

“dating?” Rufus said first in disbelieve, seemingly very much shocked at those sudden news, Cletus of course noticed the sudden change in the tone of his voice, causing his eyes to drift to the other man as he starred seemingly confused and shocked and the both girls in front of him

“like, real dating, love and such?” He finished his question as he continued to look at them with wide eyes

Goal nodded with a tiny sigh “yes, dating- a lot of things happened between me and Toni and we wanted to- are you okay?” Goal quickly asked as she saw Rufus staring down at the ground, running a hand through his hair.

Catching the man once again off guard “what- yes of course, I am just shocked- I didn't expect that!” He quickly explained as he noticed the worried tone in Goals voice, smiling a tiny bit at her and raising his hands, waving them a bit 

“please don't worry, I just didn't expect you two- god I'm happy for you” Rufus said quickly as well, catching both Toni and Goal off guard, but Goal soon smiled brightly and quickly embraced Rufus, still carefully of course, who stood still for a moment before wrapping his arms around her as well. slowly 

“Thank you Rufus, this means a lot to me” Goal said, letting go off Rufus soon afterwards

“anything that makes you happy” he replied with a tiny smile, watching Goal holding onto Tonis arm now, speaking of Toni, she still looked kinda shocked at Rufus because of the reaction she and Goal just received from him, she actually thought that he would be upset, very upset. 

“Me and Toni have to go now, we just wanted to give you those news...thank you both for your understanding and support” Goal said happily, receiving a nod from both of the males, Cletus was smiling at both of them before walking to the door “well, let me then hold the door open for you two love birds” He said, trying to do a nice gesture which he of course got thanked by seeing both of the girls smiling

“thank you” Toni said as she leaded Goal out, who was now hugging her arm happily, however before Cletus could close the door, Toni shot a short glance to Rufus, making sure he wasn't faking anything, to her it seemed like he was, but seeing him still smiling cleared her thoughts  
a tiny bit. Even though she can sense that something was very odd- he was faking it.

The door closed however. Disconnecting now the girls from the men, disconnecting it even further- or even locking it after Cletus leaned at the door with crossed arms, looking outside the window to see Toni and Goal walking off

“you aren't okay, are you?” Cletus asked, having his head still turned away from Rufus

“of course I'm not fucking okay.”


	7. From sad to happy

“I could have guessed it” Cletus responded with a sigh as he finally turned his head towards Rufus, who was know walking towards the couch to sit down, which he did, but now with his head in his hands, it was very obvious that he was upset, Cletus can't blame him, his idea of a life on Elysium was different, especially when it is about living with Goal

“oh wow. Look at you smartypants.” Rufus responded with a glare as he raised his head for only a moment “i should have guessed this would happen. I fucking knew this would happen.” Rufus said as he raised his hands in the air now out of frustration before clapping them back into his face, almost like he is trying to smack himself awake from this dream.

“Rufus I can understand how you fee-” Cletus started, only to be cut off by Rufus who made a sound of disbelieve 

“OH. you KNOW?” he said as he turned his head sharply towards Cletus with a glare “I worked my fucking ass off to get here, I worked my ass off to live here with Goal, only to then sacrifice myself and loosing the chance, but then when I get that damn chance to live happily with the girl I fucking LOVE it gets taken away by my EX who doesn't deserve her at all.” he said, almost getting louder by each word that passed his lips. 

If Cletus has to admit, he knows exactly what he meant. He wanted to marry this girl after all, only to then loose her to Rufus, he had moved on but he knows how he feels, he was upset as well. Very upset, he didn't act much different, 

“well. I did wanted to marry her once, I was in love with her and I did loose her as well, so I know how you feel at the moment, please just calm down and we can talk about it more calmly” Cletus said, trying to hold his tone to a calm one, he also tried to keep his words under control, he was close to say that he lost Goal to Rufus, but he can guess it would only make Rufus explode even more

“I'm not going to fucking calm down-”

“Rufus.” Cletus said with a sigh, taking a step closer to Rufus as he crossed his arms again “please.”

he could see that Rufus was tearing up from the sadness and frustration he was feeling, he can also see that Rufus was boiling up and was very much close to just scream in his face, however. He didn't

he stood up, giving Cletus a tiny glare and went in his room. Slamming his door shut in the process. Normally Cletus would have called out for him to not slam his doors like that. However he didnt, he was quiet stood in the living room, his arms still crossed against his chest

well that was unexpected

two hours have passed and Rufus was still in his room

Cletus was getting worried and it felt weird. He would never have guessed that he would be feeling worried for Rufus, but he did and he can't deny that fact. Cletus knocked onto the guest bedroom door as he waited for a respond, however like before, he didn't get one

“Rufus?”

nothing. Absolute nothing

“I'm coming in,” Cletus said, he didn't want to expect something he didn't want, anything could happen

all he saw was Rufus laying on the bed with his back to Cletus, snuggled up in a blanket and his face buried in the pillow

“Are you awake?” Cletus asked as he raised his eyebrow and neared himself to the bed

Only then he got to hear Rufus muffle out a “get out” into the pillow, which caused Cletus to let out a little snort 

“no, you can't just lay in bed-” Cletus said, only to be interrupted once again by Rufus

“that's what the doctor said”

“well, the doctor isn't here and he didn't mean that kind of bedrest.” Cletus said with a tiny sigh before he leaned down a bit to be on the head level with Rufus who only buried his face deeper in the pillow

“Cletus.. go out..” Rufus muffled a bit louder before raising his head to look at Cletus, his hair was pretty much covering half of his face and was a complete mess, but he can see those glassy eyes under the mess that Rufus calls so proudly his hair

“listen, I got over Goal as well, you can do too, now, if you want to, I made you hot chocolate outside, I'm going to watch a movie, join me If you want, I wont force you” Cletus said before standing back up straight

“company can sometimes be the greatest cure” he said, turning his head towards Rufus for a moment before turning back around and walking out of the room, closing the door quietly and sitting down onto the couch

after five minutes Cletus could hear the sound of a door opening, turning his head around with a tiny grin to see Rufus walking out of the room, looking around before finding on the kitchen counter the big mug with hot chocolate, damn sprinkles and whipped cream? Cletus really thought about everything

however soon both of them noticed each other fully, sharing a moment to just look at each other before Cletus moved a bit around on the couch, patting the place next to him, only for Rufus to now walk to the couch and sit next to Cletus “thanks” Rufus mumbled a tiny bit as before hearing Cletus laugh a tiny bit “anytime” he said, before folding his hands and clearing his throat

“listen, you can tell me when you need to talk, I have been through it” he said calmly, only to see Rufus nod a tiny bit “thank you, I will keep it in mind” he said, before both of them now looked onto the T.V

“i guess I got to chose something else to be my GOAL” he said, obviously making a pun, unfortunately he made that while Cletus took a sip from his sip, causing the man to be caught off guard, choking for a moment before laughing

“puns already? God you are horrible” he said while laughing, causing Rufus to laugh a tiny bit too before sniffing, rubbing his eyes and moving hair away from his face

”you are quite horrible yourself” he said jokingly, grinning a bit to Cletus

Cletus only smiled at the other man. This was a weird feeling. His chest felt all warm..

“thanks I guess”


	8. Cheer up time

a few days passed and after Goal told both Cletus and Rufus that she was now dating Toni, of course Rufus was caught out of nowhere with those news and his mood immensely fell to a negative one, causing the man to even cry that day.

Cletus felt worried about Rufus and tried to cheer him up, which helped a little bit at least, a movie, hot chocolate really opened Rufus up a bit, in other words, they really talked about fears and worries

Cletus learned things about Rufus that he never thought of. For example the amount of pressure he felt when he lived his adventure

this night really changed Rufus a bit, he seemed more relaxed and more open to talk with Cletus about certain things, it felt good to talk with Cletus about things that Rufus thought were neat or worried him.

Cletus listened closely all the time and the conversation often grew and grew, they could sit for hours and just talk, learning more about each other or helping each other with words of encouragement.

Cletus continued to try and cheer Rufus up in any way he could, how he said, he knew what he was going through and it seriously is a god awful feeling. He managed to cheer up Rufus today immensely and he was proud over it

on this day he went out with him, showing him around Elysium a tiny bit, he could see how Rufuses eyes lit up when he saw the life on Elysium and how it actually looks, the organized and clean life style and the buildings, also everyone seemed so kind and welcoming, it felt like a dream for Rufus. If Cletus would have to describe Rufus being on Elysium, it would probably be like a kid at a candy store for the first time.

“I love this place!” was the first thing Rufus said when he fell onto the couch, sitting onto it with a big smile “i imagined Elysium to be like heaven, but this, I never imagined anything could make my old thoughts look so ridiculous! Its even better than I imagined” Rufus continued to speak, his eyes still lit up like a kids eyes when they receive the gift they ever wanted.

Cletus laughed a bit as he took off the brown jacket that originally belonged to Rufus and held it in his hands “I'm glad you like it” Cletus responded, only to then continue his sentence “if you think about it, I maybe showed you 30% of the whole Elysium, its big after all” Cletus said, smiling a bit as he heard Rufus let out somewhat of a gasp 

“only 30% you got to be kidding me!” Rufus said out of disbelieve and curiosity, he needed to see more of Elysium, he can't even imagine how great the other places could be, what he saw already made him speechless!

But before he could start another sentence, he noticed that Cletus was inspecting him, shifting his gaze from Rufus and the brown coat

“something the matter? You look like you are trying to solve a riddle” Rufus said jokingly

“you know, I think we can switch identities” Cletus said, looking at Rufus to see his reaction

“wait, are you serious?” Rufus said abruptly as he stood up.

It really was the time for them to change identity back to normal. It has been a while since Rufus first woke up, and he did eat normally, gaining at least a few pounds so he doesn't look like that much like a skeleton anymore, also Cletus noticed that Rufus really wanted to be back to be himself again, so why wait longer?

“yeah, you recovered well and behaved normal- speaking of it, you didn't break anything or killed someone while you recovered, I think you deserved it”

Cletus said as he continued to look at Rufus, his expression showed somewhat of calmness and happiness for Rufus that he really did nothing horribly bad while he recovered.

Rufus starred at Cletus blankly, his eyes wide. Cletus managed to make Rufus speechless once again, but before Cletus could ask anything, he found himself being embraced by the other man, hugging him tightly, catching Cletus out of the blue and letting him stand there in shock before he slowly wrapped his arms around Rufus as well, this felt new, they never hugged before, not even when Rufus was upset. Cletus didn't want to accidentally mess things up or make Rufus feel weird

“thank you” Rufus said and meant it, he was thankful, very thankful in fact that Cletus took the time to help Rufus, he was just never able to really show it

those words and this embraced caused Cletuses face to heat up, making the pale man blush slightly before he finally could say anything 

“hey, its nothing” he said with a tiny smile as he embraced Rufus a bit stronger

“Cletus?”

“mm?”

“can I...stay at your place?” Rufus asked, he really didn't know where he can stay besides here, asking doesn't hurt, does it?

“...you know” Cletus started, taking a tiny break, letting his smile grow a tiny bit wider

“I would really like that” Cletus started, only to add his direct answer shortly after

“yes you can”


	9. Invite

it felt good to be back to normal.

Cletus was looking so forward to become his old version back, to be wearing his old clothes again and to stop acting like someone who he really wasn't.

After all this time and after all what happened, it still felt indescribable to be back to who he used to be.

Same thing with Rufus, he often complained about the white suit he had to wear and the way he had to have his hair styled, but after he was allowed back in his old clothes everything stopped, he was happy, he almost buried himself in his coat the moment he got to hold it.

Each day was a tiny surprise for Cletus, the way he and Rufus got along together only made things much easier very quickly, however on this very day he found a much bigger surprise.

“a what?” Rufus asked as he looked at Cletus who was holding a letter, it seems like Cletus just read out to Rufus what was written down

“a welcoming party for the Deponians” Cletus said calmly as he continued to look at the letter turning it around to see if something was also written on the back

“isn't it like...super late for that already?” Rufus asked shortly after “i mean, it has been pretty much a while since they arrived here”

He wasn't wrong, it isn't like that the Deponians just arrived on Elysium yesterday, instead it has been a fair amount of time since they first stepped on Elysium. Cletus thought for a moment before opening his mouth to speak once again

“maybe they planned it till now? It isn't something that happens every week, maybe they want it to be something special” he said, bringing a hand up to his chin to rub it thoughtfully

“well whatever it is, I will go.” Rufus said suddenly, standing up and bringing a fist to his chest “i was the reason they got here in the first place” he said proudly, causing Cletus to let out a tiny sigh as he looked at the other man

“you do know how important that 'party' is, right?” Cletus said shortly after, his tone changing to a bit more serious one

“well- uh-” Rufus started, only to be interrupted by Cletus who let out another sigh

“it isn't like a birthday party for a 5 year old, if you go there you have to look good and behave.” he said, giving the man a serious glare as he explained that, 

Cletus will go there, of course he will, he did get invited together with Rufus after all, even though he might have to spend the whole night looking after Rufus so Elysium wont break down. He really isn't looking forward to that

however, he should trust Rufus.

He did surprise him with his stay at his house after all and how he tried his best to behave

maybe Cletus is just jumping to conclusion that aren't even True

on the other side, its Rufus, something has to happen anyways

“hey hey, you can trust me.” Rufus said with a slight chuckle as he placed his hand on Cletuses right shoulder, causing the pale man to quickly look at the other mans hand before looking back into his face

“your house is still here, so don't worry. I know how to behave” he said, smiling a bit as he inched a bit closer to Cletuses face with a grin “you just have to stop being so negative and angry about everything. Now. When is that party anyways?” he said

having Rufus so close to him, together with that grin caused Cletuses face to heat up a tiny bit, his cheeks turning a soft pink before he quickly looked away. 

He felt this weird since a while, but cant put his finger on it, it has been a tiny problem for him that besides everything, he cant just directly say why he is feeling like this

he had a guess but that guess can't be it

“Cletus?” Rufus asked, causing Cletus to snap back into reality, causing his face to only heat up more but this time because he was embarrassed that he was just lost in his thoughts

“could you repeat it” Cletus asked as he looked back on the letter, trying to avoid eye contact with Rufus before he heard him chuckle a bit

“damn, lost in your thoughts huh? I just asked when it is” Rufus repeated

Cletus grumbled a tiny bit at what Rufus first said, however he stopped quickly to answer his question

“next week. Saturday. 7:00pm”


	10. Over Suits and Feelings

“But I don't want to!” Rufus whined as he got dragged towards the door, Cletuses hand gripping tightly onto Rufuses sleeve to prevent him from running away “why can't I just go like I normally do? My Outfit is part of me!” Rufus complained as he tried to free himself from Cletuses merciless grip

however, Rufus stopped struggling as he heard a deep sigh escaping Cletus, only to him to then turn to Rufus and give him a tiny glare

“are you trying to be funny?” he asked coldly before he threw his hands up in the air of frustration “oh course you cant! This is a serious thing!”Cletus explained, for what felt like the 1000th time.

But Rufus continued to be stubborn “well. I'm sure they can make an exception.” Rufus tried to argue back, but soon found out he was not being able to win this, he realized it the moment he saw Cletus glare at him

“no.”

“but-” Rufus started to speak again but soon got interrupted

“if you go with me, I will let you go to the fun-zone. Deal?”

Rufus was quiet at the offer that Cletus gave him, thinking deeply about it...he has to agree..that is a good deal after all. He wanted to go to the fun-zone the whole time. And since he only has to get a suit- alright fine

“alright, but I get to choose whatever I want. And you aren't allowed to see.”

“fine.” Cletus sighed before taking one a white coat “now. Lets go.” He almost ordered as he began to walk towards the door, Rufus following close behind with a smile on his face

Cletus hopes to every god that lives somewhere on this goddamn planet or in this universe that Rufus chooses something normal

Cletus was now currently sitting on the couch, holding a glass of wine in his right hand as he waited for Rufus to get ready, he had forced Rufus into the suit and now was waiting for him to come out and show, what Cletus paid for

He kept his word, he took Rufus to the fun zone and waited for the man to be just exhausted so they could just go back home afterwards, Cletus could have taken the chance all day to peak into the bags which were hiding the Suit, but he didn't, he kept his word to not look

He was impatiently tapping his finger of his free hand against the arm of his couch, wondering why Rufus would take so long for just taking on the suit, was he playing a prank on him? Was it something horrible? Did he fall asleep while taking the suit on? Or is now the whole room burning?

Cletus quickly turned his head towards the door as he heard it open, letting out a tiny sigh “finally- what took you so long-” Cletus quickly shut up as he saw the man standing infront of it, at the sight he almost let his glass even fell, but quickly held tighter onto it

Rufus had picked out a simple back suit with a white undershirt, and of course a red bow tie, it might be a simple look, but he looked wonderful

he looked absolutely stunning.

“heh yeah, sorry I guess, I never really wore suits before, only very rarely” he mumbled out his apology before he blinked a bit as he looked at Cletus

Cletus was starring at Rufus, eyes wide, his face flushed and his mouth a tiny bit open, speechless. Cletus was blinking slowly as he continued to scan Rufuses body up and down...

“woah dude, don't stare, you are making me all flustered” he joked as he began to chuckle a bit when Cletus quickly stepped back into reality.

Cletus shook his head quickly before turning away to hide his face, which was now only more red colored “shut it. You picked out something good, I'm impressed” Cletus mumbled before taking a sip from his wine, only to hear Rufus chuckle once again

“well, it it causes you to stare you really meant it. Now please excuse me, I got to take this damn thing off” Rufus said, happy that this was over now and he can go back in his comfortable wear, he just has to wear it for a day, but that day isn't today

as soon as the door fell shut and Cletus was now left alone in the room once again, he quickly brought a hand up to his face, making a tiny groan like noise before pressing his hand against his face 

“snap out of it. Those are just confused feelings.” he told himself in a quiet mumble, running his gloved hand through his soft hair as he starred at the glass of wine

“it has to be confused feelings.”

“there is no other explanation to this.” he mumbled shortly after, trying to tell himself that the feelings he was feeling were just brought up from confusion, the last time he felt like this was with Goal.

“I can't be having a crush on him. never” he kept telling himself in his head, burying his face in his hand

soon however he heard the door open again, only to see Rufus stepping out of it and sitting down next to him “so” he started, only to turn to Cletus with a warm smile “what is your plan now? Movie?” he asked soon afterwards causing Cletus to blink a tiny bit before he just handed Rufus the remote 

“you choose” he mumbled out, letting Rufus now decide what to do while he continued to be in his own thoughts

he cant be crushing on him

can he?


	11. Date?

The welcoming party, which was organized by the council of elders, was coming closer and closer, and it made Cletus only more and more nervous.

It wasn't a big deal, it was just an invention to a stupid party, what made him nervous however was the fact that he has to see Rufus in the suit again. 

Rufus. This man didn't leave his mind alone for a single second

it was clear to Cletus that he might has laid his eyes onto Rufus, but that wasn't the only problem he had with Rufus.

This man doesn't know what proper manners are and Cletus really doesn't want to feel embarrassed that Rufus might do some stupid shit there and accidentally knock someone out with a spoon- maybe even killing someone

however, Cletus had an idea of how he can teach Rufus some manners. It might be difficult for him but he is sure he can survive it without breaking his calm manner

“you mean like a date?” Rufus asked with a tiny grin at what Cletus just had offered him, grinning only more as he saw Cletus blushing badly at the tiny Joke Rufus made

“no. not like a date.” he hissed at the man before him before he placed his hands on his hips, giving him a tiny glare before explaining further what he means 

“i want to take you out to eat, so that I can teach you proper table manners. I wont let you make a fool out of yourself in front of everyone.”

“so it's a not date but kinda like a date?”

“will you just shut up about that already!?” Cletus shortly snapped, he tried to stay calm as he had to explain his offer to Rufus but this is too much. His face only deepening in a red color, however it only got worse as he heard Rufus chuckle

“whatever you say. But I don't see a problem with my table manners” Rufus said, but before he could even add anything to that he heard Cletus let out a heavy sigh 

“are you serious? You ate your scrambled eggs with your hands- you make noises when you drink and you SPEAK with your mouth full!” Cletus almost snapped again as he suddenly raised his arms in the air again before crossing them against his chest and taking deep breaths, which only made Rufus chuckle a tiny bit more

“alright alright, you won.” Rufus said in his 'defeat' before he booped Cletuses cheek “you can stop looking like a tomato now. Just tell me when and where we have to meet up” he continued to grin through his words.

God Cletus would love to punch him right now because

“we aren't going anywhere, we are staying here. I won't let you ruin my image I have on here because I got to teach you manners.” he hissed out before moving his face away quickly after Rufus had booped his cheek, only to then make a sharp turn and started to walk off “just come out for dinner, put on something nice.” he said, only to look at Rufus over his shoulder “don't be late. That is not what a gentleman does.”

soon Cletus exited the room, only to then have some more free room to breath, he hates him so much, but yet- he doesn't. 

He doesn't know what he is feeling

preparing the meal wasn't so bad, especially since Rufus decided to help out a tiny bit. He mainly did things that couldn't harm either him, the house or himself. It other words bringing Cletus the plates and ingredients that he needed for his meal

Cletus was preparing something simple. Something that even the dumbest of deponian could get along with, even if he would have doubts on Rufus and his intelligence. Smoked salmon with potatoes and a fitting sauce.

Cletus, due to the constant cooking show watching late in the night when he couldn't sleep, learned some tips of how to 'pimp' up meals

Rufus was always watching him closely, obvious for even the most dense person that he couldn't wait to dig in or maybe he was just very fascinated about him cooking? Cletus would prefer the second option.

However, before the Dinner was even served, Cletus made sure to push Rufus back into his room, formerly the guest bedroom, to get changed in 10 minutes, which is enough in Cletus opinion when it comes to Rufus, he doesn't need a lot of time.

While the seconds were ticking, Cletus prepared up the table, placed forks and spoons and also knives down next to the plate, lit up candles and even decorated a tiny bit, it wasn't something super big, just something tiny that can be managed to be done in 10 minutes. 

Just when Cletus was filling up the wine glasses with, who guessed it, wine, he heard footsteps approaching him and that oh so familiar voice 

“hey.”


	12. New things about eachother

“hey.”

that's all Rufus said before Cletus turned around, ready to just say something about how ridiculous he looks, but in reality, Cletus was once again stunned.

He isn't sure why but whatever Rufus is wearing, which includes those trashy clothes which he actually started to like on him, he somehow makes it look so good on him

due to Rufus still being new on Elysium, he had picked out some of Cletuses clothes that he had given him, which also includes a dark brown cotton sweater-vest with a white undershirt and just his normal beige pants.

Something so simple and normal, but yet it took Cletuses breath away. Before it appeared like he was starring however he quickly turned his head away

“is it fitting?”

“yes, very much. At least in my opinion” he responded to Rufuses question almost immediately, maybe in a more mumbled tone but yet, it was still the answer to Rufuses question, which made the man smile a tiny bit at the pale one

“so. Shall we start then, I am starving already”

Cletus really had to hold himself back to not say anything rude to that, there was the chance for him to say something like a counter, but he wont. He doesn't want to ruin things now

the dinner went....somewhat smoothly, of course Rufus had his 5 minutes here and there, starting with sticking spoons onto his face, which Cletus actually snorted when he saw that since he looked absolutely ridiculous. Normally he would have nt accepted things like that- however..he let it slide..

The more difficult part however was to teach Rufus the proper manners that he desperately needed, however it wasn't as bad as he imagined it to be, it was actually very pleasant. Turns out that when Rufus really tries to do something, he wont fuck up that hard.

In conclusion, it was a nice dinner. The food was good and the wine wasn't bad either

and now they were just sitting there, talking about random stuff and joking around before a question escaped Rufuses lips that left Cletus a bit confused

“will there be dances on this welcoming party thing?”

“i mean- I guess? Its a big thing so they are probably going to organize a lot” Cletus responded as he looked at Rufus with a slightly confused expression painted on his face 

“great, then I can at least get my bones shaking again-”

“wait, you dance?” Cletus interrupted Rufus, leaving him only to blink and look at the pale man before he laughed a tiny bit 

“well, back on Deponia, when I wasn't working on plans, I had a lot of free time, I did all sorts of things, one thing was learning how to dance- it was way back though, back when I was together with Toni, I mainly did it so we could dance together”  
“oh?” Cletus raised his eyebrows as he looked at Rufus, he never thought that Rufus can dance- or well it seems like it from his story

“i never thought you would be such kind of a person” he said with a tiny grin before chuckling a bit “i thought you always were all lazy and destroyed things” he joked, receiving a chuckle from Rufus because of what he said

“ha ha. Very funny, you don't believe me, do you?” Rufus said as he pushed himself up by placing his hands onto the table, standing up and looking down at Cletus, beginning to grin a tiny bit before Cletus just shook with his head 

“i never said that, but I guess I will see at the welcoming party then?” 

“why not now?”


	13. Dance, Dance until someone slips

“why not now?”

this caught Cletus out of nowhere, causing the man to blink before looking at Rufus with a confused expression

“excuse me?”

“well, you probably have some sort of radio or even jukebox around here, lets just put on a song and I can show you already, only if you are brave enough to dance with a cool dude like me” Rufus offered the pale man as he held his hand out to him, grinning towards him

Not only did that grin cause the pale man starting to get more color in his face, also the offer to dance with someone that he had laid his eyes on

“Alright, I guess a dance wont hurt. I expect highly from you though.” he said as he placed his hand onto Rufuses, only to then stand up shortly after 

“however, the only music I would really dance to is going more to the classic theme. If you don mind that” he said, returning the smile he received from Rufus back

“well. I didn't expect anything else from you, Mr. Snobpants-”

“watch it or I'm going to step on your feet while we dance.”

“oh speaking of that. The last time I danced with Toni I accidentally broke her toe because I stepped onto it-”

“...excuse me?” Cletus said as he started to frown at the story he just told him. Almost regretting this dance already, however Rufus just answered with a shrug and a tiny grin

“hm, what? I didn't say anything”

“...yeah right. Lets just get it over with” Cletus sighed a tiny bit as he rolled his eyes. Taking a step back and letting go of Rufuses hand as he walked over to his living room Area of the room

“we are doing it here, more space and such” he explained as he took out a record- yes. Cletus owns a record player, it just fits perfectly in the whole aesthetic that Cletus has going on with his house,

Rufus stepped into the Living room area and waited for the man to finish what he was doing  
As soon as the music started to play, Cletus stood back straight and turned around, only to then walk back to Rufus and take his hand back into his own

Cletus could feel his face starting to heat up as soon as he felt Rufuses hand placed down onto his waist, Cletus would never imagined that Rufus learned to dance like this- he actually thought it was some kind of headbanging-hip-swing kind of dance- but no, its the complete opposite

Cletus placed his hand down onto Rufuses shoulder before they started to take steps together, one to the left- then to the right- then to the back and then back forth- only to then repeat everything

“believe me now smartypants?” Rufus snorted as he continued to dance with Cletus- who was needless to say- surprised!

“not bad..” Cletus mumbled out as he tried to avoid eye contact as they continued to take the steps to the side, back and forth. This pretty much lasted two full minutes before Rufus hummed out

“you know, I could easily twirl you around like in those cheesy romance movies” he said, only to chuckle a bit afterwards

“oh? Is that so?” Cletus asked, returning a slight chuckle “we could try that if you want to”

this night went from trying-to-teach-Rufus-proper-manners- to a night of dancing and joking and actually- Cletus can't complain about it- it was nice.

“hell yeah” Rufus only said in response with a bright smile

and so they did, adding a twirl to the dance in which Cletus was now making a short twirl, Rufus continued to hold him, all went pretty smoothly before Cletus slipped when the twirl was just about to end.

Normally Cletus would have fallen onto his back, probably even bumping his head against the wooden floor

however, that didn't happen

Rufus was quick enough to get a hold of him, holding tightly onto his waist. Cletus instinctively grabbed onto Rufuses arms to somehow save himself from the ground as soon as he felt somewhat being supported to not fall

now here they were. In a position that they didn't think they ever would be in.  
It now really looked like a part from a cheesy romance movie

both were starring at eachothers faces, deep into their ees, Cletuses face heated up more and more, maybe out of embarrassment?

Maybe because he was held like this by Rufus- the man that didn't stop causing trouble in his mind?

But he wasn't the only one whos face was heating up, a soft dark red blush started to form onto Rufuses cheeks as he continued to hold Cletus. They were almost like frozen, holding onto eachother like this

soon the music stopped as both of the men started to quickly snap back into reality. Standing up quickly- Cletus thanks to Rufuses help before Cletus opend his mouth to speak

“t-thanks for the save..” he mumbled out with a slight stutter before Rufus responded “ah...no problem- it was nothing really” he mumbled back, raising his hand to put it behind his hand, ruffling his own hair a bit

it felt like hours as they both just stood there- when in reality it was only one minute before Cletus started to speak once again- “I-I-” he begann to stutter out, his face heating up more and more.

It was torture. Real damn tortue. Just say it. Say that you might caught feelings. What is the worst that can happen? Rejection? You dealt with it before. Its nothing bad. Just tell him the truth.

“I-I'm going to start cleaning up the kitchen- you can go to bed if you want- its late” he mumbled out before he turned away, starting to step into the kitchen

“alright...goodnight- thank you for the dinner” Rufus mumbled a tiny bit before he started to walk towards the his bedroom door, hesitating to open it, looking towards Cletus who- in fact was actually starting to pick up the dishes

Rufus turned his head back to the doorknob, twisted it and walked into his room. Only to just fall into his bed after he had closed the door and was at close enough to the bed so he wouldn't fall off the bed 

he placed a hand against his face before running it through his hair, looking up at the ceiling as he began to think about what just happened and most important of all: his own feelings

he has been feeling weird around Cletus lately, it wasn't a bad weird- it was more- a pleasant kind of weirdness, which was pretty weird for Rufus- pretty weird

was he falling for him like he was falling for Goal? Maybe.

Is he sure about it? No he isn't

how high would the risk be though, that he would fall for Cletus? high

Rufus despised the fact that he was falling for Cletus- he really did- he hated Cletus. It was one of the worst person he had ever met in his whole life

on the other hand, living with Cletus was something different, it gave him a whole new image of who Cletus really is- maybe that's why he doesn't hate him anymore?

He also noticed the way Cletus had treated him. It wasn't like before- he could really feel that Cletus was starting to like him as well- but probably not like how he felt towards him-

fuck- he really fell for piece of a snob, huh?

He isn't completely sure of his feelings- he needs to sleep over them.

That will maybe clear his mind

Cletuses mind wasn't clear, his heart was racing, his face heated up and buried in his face and his eyes pointed directly onto the ceiling as well. He was rather fast by cleaning the kitchen, obviously not caring about everything being perfect and in the position where it should be. That wasn't as important right now

he left the Kitchen. Only to walk into his room, closing the door before falling down onto his own bed, pressing his hands onto his heated face as he tried to think straight for once. This is bad.

“for fucks sake..” he cursed quietly to himself. His hand pressing harder against his face as he was laying onto his bed

“i got to tell him or its going to break my fucking mind.”

“even if it has to be on the damn welcoming party."


	14. so close, yet no words

“are you done?” Rufus complained as he leaned against the wall next to Cletuses door, having his arms crossed as he waited for the other man to finally be ready for the big event that was this special day.

a few days have passed after their dance, causing the time that was between then and now to be rather awkward, they talked less but continued to help each other out if needed. However today was the day that Cletus so feared upon

not only did Cletus not get it over his chest to confess to Rufus, he completely lost the time and knows that, due to him not being honest, will make this day even worse

Today was the day of the welcoming party.

After Cletus had forced Rufus to make himself look somewhat nice for the evening, he of course took some time for himself as well, but Rufus was growing impatient by each minute that was passing in which Cletus was still in his own room. 

He was already waiting for what felt like hours, when in reality it was only 15 minutes

Of course Rufus was wearing the black suit he had to buy- or else he would have to listen to Cletuses complaints. Rufus isn't a big fan of this suit, firstly it isn't as comfortable than his normal wear is, secondly it still doesn't really make up his mind on WHY he has to wear a suit.

Why can't he just go in his normal clothes, clothes he is famous for! The only thing that Rufus didn't change that much was his hair, of course it is washed and brushed, but he didn't style it that much. He didn't want things to look too forced like they might already be- which is the suit of course

Cletus was actually already finished with his get up. He was done styling himself up. He was wearing a white suit with a green tie, of course he made sure to pick out the nicest clothes he has and those were it. Of course like Rufus, he would preferred to stay in his normal clothes, but the difference between the two man is, that Cletus really doesn't mind this suit or being styled

Of course he wanted to look perfect, every detail has to be on point, causing to take somewhat of a while to finish, but that wasn't the main reason on WHY it took so long for him to finish

The main Reason he had taken a bit slower was, that his mind was continuously trailing off to the night, the night where they danced and the night in which he saw Rufus in his suit. Just thinking about those two event causes his heart to warm up, so did his cheeks whenever those thoughts came up. Due to his pale skin it was of course very noticeable whenever he blushed.

A different problem was there though, he still didn't tell Rufus about his feelings and he isn't really sure if he will ever let a word out about it, but because of him keeping his feelings a secret, he knows for sure that this night is going to end everything for him. Mainly because of Rufus..in his suit..having a great time and smiling ever so brightly- stop it Cletus. You need to focus.

he took a deep breath before he placed his hand onto the doorknob, twisting it to open the dark wooded door that separated the two man “fine fine. I am done. Are you happy now-” he couldn't finish his sentence before he froze where he stood

his eyes focused on the other man

and Rufus returned the gesture as well.

Both were starring at each other with wide eyes, almost like both were in shock.

Rufus looked stunning, very stunning. He looked handsome in this suit, causing the pale man to blush brightly when he thought about the first time seeing him in this Suit, memories washing up quickly and his feelings only swelled more and more,

but something surprised him, that Rufus was blushing as well

“you look...amazing!” 

wait..what?

Cletuses only blushed harder, causing his face to heat up more and to turn even redder than it already was. He thought...he looked amazing? Was he for real? Was he just playing to seem nice? What the hell is going on. He was lost for words if he was being serious

“t-thank you...” Cletus stuttered out, turning his face around and bringing a hand to his face to somewhat cover it to just try and hide the immense blush that was on his face “you look quite handsome yourself..” he admitted

he was rewarded with a tiny chuckle that slipped through Rufuses lips as he bought a hand up to his head, placing it against the back of it before burying it in his own hair “you think so? I think I don't have the guts for such clothes” he said, grinning a tiny bit before he heard a soft sigh from Cletus

“well, in my Opinion, I think you are 'rocking' it. If I would use the words that you use.” he said, quickly noticing something about the suit that seemed...odd “whats with your bow Tie?” 

“oh that, yeah it was a bit of a pain to fold, so I removed it”

“where is it?”

Rufus blinked for a tiny moment before reaching his hand into his pocket and pulling out the piece of red fabric, it seems like that Rufus tried to do it by himself but gave up. Maybe even while he was waiting for Cletus to be done, explaining why he might seemed so frustrated

Cletus took the piece of fabric that Rufus was holding out to him before stepping close to the other man. This action caused Rufus to gulp a tiny bit, his face heating up more than it already was. “here..let me help you with it.” Cletus said calmly as he wrapped the Fabric around his neck, before tieing it to make it a perfect bow tie

however, Rufus didn't have his eyes on the bow tie, he had his eyes focused on Cletus, his mind was racing, now could be the perfect moment to just spill the secret out “Cletus?”

“hm?” Cletus said, taking a step back and fixing his tie a tiny bit before looking at Rufus with raised eyebrows

“I-” Rufus started, only to immediately shut his mouth once again. His insides felt like they were twisting as he stood there quietly, he wanted to tell Cletus. He needed to. He cant keep it a secret. But something was preventing him to tell Cletus his own feelings

what if he doesn't feel the same? What if this ruins everything and the welcoming party for him?

It has to wait.

“I think we should head off now. I think it would be not very gentleman like if we come late..” Rufus said calmly after a minute of starring, only to then see Cletus nod with a tiny smile, the smile didn't seem so convincing though...

“you are right. Lets go”


	15. At the party

they really outdid themselves this time

the party was amazing

the mood was good, the food was good, the music was good. It was very well planned

and Rufus didn't make a fool out of himself.

Thank god.

Cletus was standing on one of the many balconies that the Party room has, which was decorated with red roses bushes inside of pots that were hanging on the wall and the Balcony itself. It looked quite good. They even decorated the Balconies with those rose bushes. They really wanted this welcoming party to be perfect.

He was holding a wine glass filled with red wine in his right hand as he starred up into the sky, his mind even more troubled after he saw how much Rufus enjoyed this night, he even hung out with Goal a tiny bit and danced with his friends.

He was happy.

And so was Cletus.

But his mind was telling him otherwise. He was so frustrated that he couldn't be so near around Rufus without looking like a damn tomato with his blushing and like a brain dead because of all his stuttering. If he would just confessed sooner he might be able to dance with Rufus. He wouldn't care what the others think, not even if they would be grossed out because 'they are clones'

fuck this. Even if he is his clone or some shit like that, it wont change the fact that he is in love with him.

Cletus was once again deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice that someone was walking up to him

“you okay?”

oh god. Of course it has to be Rufus

“hm..? oh yeah, I am fine” he said, still looking into the clear night sky which had few clouds painted onto them, it was a beautiful night.

“well. You have been out here for quite a while now, you sure you okay?” Rufus insisted once again, walking up next to Cletus now and leaning against the railing of the Balcony, he really wont let go will he?

Cletus shot a tiny glance to Rufus, only for his cheeks to turn a soft rosy red once again “really, I am fine, I just got some thoughts running through my head. That's all”

“whats bothering your snobby mind that even the red wine wont help?” Rufus grinned a tiny bit as he crossed his arms now, scanning the man dressed in white with half closed eyes. Yeah. He wont let go of this topic. Why did he just have to say this

Cletus felt panic swelling up quickly as he had to think of a good excuse on why his mind is being troubled, he can't tell him whats really on his mind, not today, never. Not even if he would become the king of everything. He had to think fast

“y-you know-” Cletus started, his face heating up more and more “stuff” he really couldn't come up with anything, his mind was almost yelling to him to tell Rufus the truth but he just couldn't. He doesn't feel the same at all-

“you know, all of your blushing around me, makes it seem like you got a huge crush on me. Did I do anything or whats up” Rufus joked as he giggled a bit, but as soon as he saw Cletuses expression he fell quiet, almost like if you would stop a heavy metal video out of nowhere.

Cletuses eyes were wide open, his expression showing shock and disbelieve and his face completely red- almost like Rufus hit the right spot-

alarm signals went through Rufuses head- he couldn't be right with that could he- he just joked- Cletus would never have feelings like that for him- was it something else maybe-

“Rufus.”

“Cletus?”

“i need to tell you something” Cletus said in a calm tone, watching Rufus cross his arms only tighter against his chest before leaning with them against the railing

“I'm all ears..” he replied, feeling his heart skip a beat as he kept his voice low, not to attract someones attention


	16. Confession

everything was quiet after Rufus had said the last thing, obviously Cletus really fought with his words at this very moment. This made things worse because each second that passed felt like torture

this is torture

“god this is horrible” Cletus mumbled out, his face turning into a deeper shade of red as his hands almost tugged against his sleeves of how hard he was actually crossing his arms, almost like he wanted to hold himself to not actually scream out

“y-you see.” Cletus gulped before being interrupted by Rufus “Cletus listen, you don't have to tell me anything if you feel uncomfortable-”

“shut it and let me speak.” Cletus almost hissed out as he glared at Rufus for a second, at least he was his old self still, at least somewhat positive 

“you didn't do anything embarrassing. Not even in the slightest so it is pretty obvious on which option it fucking is” Cletus said with a sigh, bringing his hands to his face to bury his it inside of them. “you can't even believe how much of a torture this is. I have to see you daily, with your damn smile and your damn good mood. At first I fucking hated the idea of us living together but after time had passed it grew on me, quite quickly in fact that it first scared me.” he admitted, but taking a tiny pause to collect his thoughts for his next 'speech'

“I don't know what you did, if you drugged me or anything. But through the time it felt good to even talk with you, what for me used to be like talking with a 5 year old. It was a pain but that quickly vanished. Things only got worse after I realized how good I felt around you. The moment I saw you so damn broken it hit me. Remember all the times I spaced out after we switched identities? It started around that time.” he confessed, only clinging to his sleeves more and more, almost like he is seeking for some kind of support

but he wasn't done

“i tried to tell myself that this is just bullshit, that I am just mixing things over. But you brick made things worse. With your fucking charm and the whole suit and dance thing. I fucking hated you. I really did. But you are giving me such a hard time with all your goofiness. I thought living with you would ruin my life. But it didn't ruin my life. It ruined my mind” he paused for a moment before taking a deep breath

“you ruined my fucking mind into liking you” Cletus confessed. It felt like stones were falling from his heart. It felt good to say it,but it wasn't the L word he was trying to say.

“Clet-” Rufus started before being cut off by Cletus again

“you know what. Liking isn't the right word.” Cletus said before turning his head sharply at Rufus. Before clenching his hands into fists, grabbing a handful of the sleeves- or well as much as he could .

“i Love you, alright? You fucked with my head so badly that I fucking fell for you. I fell hard. And I know that it is wrong. We are clones. I shouldn't feel like this. But somehow you managed to fuck that up. Are you happy now? You got what you wanted. The truth. And this is fucking pointless because you don't feel the same, you can just go.”   
he said sharply. Before turning his head down to look down from the view of the balcony they head. Almost like he is mentally preparing himself for the worst that can happen

this is horrible

he shouldn't have confessed. His use of words was wrong as well. God this turned out worst than it should have been- it felt better to have it off his chest now but god-

the only positive thing that happened here was that he was mumbling and that nobody at this damn party could hear their conversation, if they could Cletus would have wanted to disappear right where he was. 

“i-” Rufus started. God this will end badly. He already can feel it. Cletus tensed up, forcing his eyes shut and actually tried to refuse to hear what Rufus has to say. However, he was confused over what he heard

“i actually thought I would be rejected by you.”

“huh?” Cletus replied- his voice full of confusion


	17. This is...something.

“wh-what do you mean” Cletus stuttered out, seemingly confused over what Rufus just had said, does he mean-

“well you see. The dance really opened some thoughts you know. And I may or may not realized that I have been falling for your snobby ass actually” Rufus said, bringing his hand up to the back of his own head to scratch it a bit “i just thought I was confused as well but- I guess not”

this cant be happening

“i was feeling quite fuzzy after seeing how you really did care for me, even if you sometimes were your old grumpy self and still were quite a tough cookie, but I saw that I could be me around you without you hating me like you used to”

is he serious?

“so. Feelings developed. I was joking here and there but just because the reaction I received from you were so...cute?? I don't really know what to say you just...hit me out of the blue” Rufus said with a nervous chuckle. Scratching the back of his head once again as a deeper blush started to form on his face

“god this is awkward...but- you know- glad to see you feel the same I guess?”

“you got to be kidding me” Cletus said in complete disbelieve- with a hint of seriousness as well

“huh?” Rufus said quickly, tensing up once more at the tone that Cletus was speaking in

Cletus turned his whole body towards Rufus, starring into the other mans eyes as he did. Of course both of them were still mumbling to each other to not attract someones curiosity- that would be something neither of them really wanted- especially right now

“the whole time. I could have confessed to you without feeling like an idiot? I could have confessed on the damn night we danced, when you fucking held me in your arms?”

“i mean-”

“i could have avoided this awkward situation so easily, but didn't because I thought you were just joking so I thought your feelings were the fucking opposite.”

“Cletus-” he tried to stop Cletus but quickly got cut off once again. Cletus was really working himself up with this topic, it was obvious that he was quite struck with this

“i could have made things so much easier for me and you but no- you decided to play- giving me wrong signals the whole time-” Cletus was about to start his next lecture, but Rufus stepped in before that could even happen

“Cletus.” Rufus started once again, with a more serious tone

“what.”

“i gave you those signals, because I thought you weren't interested in me the whole time, mainly because of our past interactions. That is all. Also because I didn't even know you were heads over heels for me- I mean who isn't but in all seriousness. I thought I was still- you know- not your type.” 

this caused Cletuses mind to go blank- no words formed in his mind to say something back

causing a quietness to appear once again.

this damn quietness.

That was the worst part.

this time it wasn't as horrible as before but it still sucked

“this...” Cletus said, raising a hand up to his face to run it through his hair “this is...something” he said, not the best words he could have choosen yet but still. He was still really caught out of nowhere

“yeah...” Rufus said with a slight chuckle, his face only heating up more and more, so did Cletuses face..

“and..what now?” Rufus asked shortly after, trying to break a pause since each time they fell quiet right now was like a endless torture.

“I-I really don't know..” Cletus said in a quiet tone, he really had no idea. Crossing his arms against his chest once again, almost grabbing onto the fabric of his sleeves as he tried to calm down a tiny bit

he wasn't feeling bad- it was a good feeling after all! He finally had his confession over himself and even received a positive outcome of it! Still the feeling of butterflies flying through his stomach was something he didn't feel in a long time

“should we talk more..you know..privately? You know those old grannies here can be quite the talkative persons- almost like security cameras even- they catch everything-” Rufus was joking once again- maybe he was talking the truth or he was doing both, whatever suits better at this situation- but once again he was being cut off by Cletus

“please..” Cletus mumbled in agreement, a bit more privacy couldn't hurt- especially since Rufus wasn't wrong with the whole old-lady-thing that he joked about.

“outside..like outside the main entrance?” Rufus asked- not to accidently walk somewhere completely different- he is still somewhat new to Elysium- especially this kind of area of Elysium.

“yeah..that could be enough I guess...” the pale man mumbled once again before turning himself away from the railing

“alright.. I will just inform Goal before anyone looks for us, would you like to go out already and wait?”

Cletus nodded before beginning to walk away. He wasn't upset or anything- just so many things were happening at once right now- he cant really process everything

however a more private talk might not hurt..especially with all the background noises away.


	18. Outside and alone

Cletus was impatiently waiting for Rufus to finally come back.

Almost like Rufus was waiting for Cletus just earlier today, but this time- it was a more serious situation 

he was outside rather quickly, almost rushing out to just hope to get things over quick. He doesn't want this awkward situation to last much longer.

However. He can finally breath out again, having the worries and fears were slowly disappearing, he finally confessed to Rufus and he didn't get rejected! Which was great actually, but the only fear he had was..what will happen now? Can they still live on how they used to? Will things change? 

Cletus is for sure that, due to both of them having feelings for each other, that it can lead to a full relationship, which he really didn't mind- in fact he would love to have it- but will Rufus take the step? Is he maybe uncomfortable? 

Cletus knows he shouldn't be thinking of this kind of 'depressing' stuff, but he really couldn't help himself. He was filled with worries at this moment and he couldn't brush it away so easily..

he crossed his arms once again as he leaned against one of the many pillars that are in a straight line to the entrance. Elysium has it class and his amazing building wise. Having such a big ball like room, like kings and queens had to celebrate festivals, was somewhat impressive, and of course the outside had to look good as well.

“Cletus?” a familiar voice called out, causing Cletus to tense up and quickly step back into the reality

“here.” he called back to Rufus as he only crossed his arms harder against his chest, breathing out for a last time in peace before he saw Rufus walking into his view, still quite blushy from what happened- which was just a talk.

“and., what did you tell them?” Cletus asked as soon as Rufus stood in front of him, catching the man out of nowhere before he raised a hand, waving it around a bit 

“just that I have to discuss something with you, nothing else.” Rufus replied smoothly, at least he didn't say the exact truth, which made Cletus at least somewhat more relaxed about this whole thing. He would have imagined Rufus just throwing out that they just confessed their love and will talk about becoming a thing- he really wouldn't be surprised

“so..you wanted to talk more privately now...” Cletus could hear the hesitation in Rufuses voice, he doesn't blame him though, he would as well in this situation if he was the one to ask this kind of a question

“yeah..its just- you know- too noisy I guess..” the noises weren't really much of a problem for him, he really didn't care about that, what he cared about were their stares if it would come to any type of closer contact like holding a hand or even- that- yeah- lets not think about that right now

mainly thinking about a kiss sends heat to Cletuses face, causing him to blush like crazy once again before looking away for a short moment

“also- I didn't want anyone to notice...this whole conversation..” he mumbled out, only to turn his head back to Rufus who was grinning a tiny bit, causing the man to quickly raise his eyebrows “w-what are you grinning at now?!” he quickly said before being rewarded with a tiny chuckle from Rufus

“you know- its funny- in such situations you still so care highly about your image” Rufus chuckled quietly to himself, only to grin more as he saw the expression he got from Cletus, which was a rather surprised one

“are you braindead?” he asked in a louder tone before quickly turning quiet as he noticed that he might have been louder than he wanted

“of course I am concerned about my image. But also of yours! For fuck sake we are clones-”

“and?” Rufus interrupted him with a tiny smile on his lips, obviously taking it on the lighter shoulder than Cletus is doing

“how can you see it like it's nothing? Maybe you don't understand this situation, we are clones- this is wrong and-”

“listen Cletus- you are way to concerned.” Rufus sighed out, before placing a hand onto to pillar, right next to Cletuses head while he was to said man “we are on Elysium. Who will give a single fuck? You didn't seem to care when we were at fun land and had a great time. You didn't seem to care when we were just walking around Elysium. So why should it now?”

“I-”

“just let the people think. I know that some comments can suck, I heard a lot of things when I was still building on plans to get to Elysium, but did I care? I did in the beginning- but I continued to do what I wanted and now, see what happened. Instead of getting my own ass here alone, I bought the other idiots here as well- and they didn't believe in the fact that I could make their life better and getting them to Elysium. If I would have stopped because of what those fuckers said, I wouldn't be here. So you got to just ignore them and do the thing that you want to, and when they have a problem? Who cares? It's their fault that they have to be so butthurt about it.”

Cletus was speechless.

Literally speechless.

Cletus was often surprised at what Rufus does and sometimes said- but this- his speech right now? He never expected anything like that. He thought he would just make a tiny joke but no...he didn't..

Cletus lowered his head for a tiny moment to even process what was happening before letting out a tiny sigh, raising his head to look back at Rufus, this time he looked into the others eyes

“i guess you are right..”

“see, sometimes my mouth doesn't just bring out rubbish and stupid things” Rufus joked as he rolled his eyes, it was obvious that he tried to lighten up the mood at least a tiny bit and make it less awkward- which he succeeded with by receiving a tiny chuckle from Cletus

“i didn't say anything about that, but you can continue dreaming”

both shared a tiny chuckle before the oh so horrible quietness crept over them once again, only to soon be broken by Rufus clearing his throat “so uh...”

“hm?” Cletus replied quickly, tensing up a tiny bit at the sudden break of quietness

“can you..imagine us..you know..” Cletus asked, hesitating a tiny bit once again and seemingly having some kind of trouble choosing the right words- or maybe trying to avoid asking him directly. Rufus could feel his hands starting to turn somewhat sweaty by each passing second after he had asked Cletus this one question

Cletuses face heated up once more as his eyes opened wide, looking at the man infront of him before chuckling a tiny bit “well..” he said, raising a hand up to his hair, since some of hair became a bit loose from how he had styled them earlier, only to brush it behind his ear so it wouldnt hang loosely in front of his hair “i could imagine it..yes”

“so its a yes?”

“yes.”

“holy shit..” Rufus said in disbelieve as he looked at Cletus, he really didn't expect this, his heart was racing, his face was hot and his hands were wet from all the sweat and from being pressed so strongly against the pillar- also from him being nervous.

just when Rufus wanted to free his hand a tiny bit to give his hand some air

he slipped

causing him to stumble forward

and causing him to be closer to Cletus

real close

so close that almost their lips would touch, if it wouldn't be for that one inch that was blocking it from happening..

and so they starred at each other, eyes wide and faces as red as they had their head dunked in a can of red paint

quietness..

that god awful quietness.


	19. closing the Closeness

“I-I” Rufus began to speak to break the silence after the two men starred into each others wide eyes . Something else they shared were their red faces, being so close after the talk they just had was quite- how do you say it- quick?

Not that it was bad- but maybe what made it so awkward was that it all happened because of Rufus slipping, but Cletus should have seen it coming, because of the fact how clumsy Rufus sometimes can be- which he has to agree on, sometimes is rather cute..

“I-I slipped I swear!” Rufus quickly said as he pulled back quickly, his face only turning a deeper shade of red as soon as he had stepped back a tiny bit- it only grew worse when Cletus placed a hand onto the other mans arm, followed with a tiny chuckle

“It's okay. Don't worry.” he said calmly as he soon looked back into the other mans eyes “i didn't show any kind of movement for you to move away- in fact I rather liked the closeness at this moment” he spoke, his face- oh lord his face. He knows how much he must be blushing right now, he probably looked like an idiot right now- but right now he didn't care. 

He didn't care at all right now

Why should he? There is no need to hide his feelings or the things he wants to say to Rufus anymore. He can say such things. Maybe it's just a bit new to him again- feeling such things and really experiencing it.

Rufus tensed up a tiny bit by the words that Cletus so calmly spoke to him, his blush only growing worse and worse each second that passed, however, after he gulped and nodded a tiny bit, he stepped back closer to Cletus, not as close as a few minute earlier when he slipped, but closer than he was a few seconds ago

Cletus placed his other hand also onto Rufuses arm- so he was now holding the man by his arms, and smiled warmly at him “you are okay with this, right?” he asked, obviously meaning this whole closeness thing that is going on right now, he seemed rather nervous and what felt like hesitation just a few seconds ago...he just wants to make sure

“what? Me? Of course I am okay with this- I'm super cool with this- can't you see that?” Rufus replied, trying to act as cool as possible- even though it was obvious to most of them that he is quite flustered about everything going on. “I think that I am the coolest one right now. Especially in this kind of situation.”

“oh don't make me laugh” Cletus said as he began to chuckle a tiny bit, slowly caressing Rufuses arm with his right hand a tiny bit, probably in an attempt to make him feel better “you are so nervous that your hands are completely sweaty”

“well- it's not daily that such situations happen- anymore of course” Rufus replied, turning his head away with a tiny smug grin on his lips “so don't expect highly from me- not that you ever did that anyways” he added soon afterwards, receiving a gasp from the pale man before he laughed a tiny bit

“oh what is this supposed to mean now? Firstly, I can assure you- and other people would as well- that you didn't have any of those situations 'daily' Secondly I can't say that you aren't wrong about those statements” he said, grinning back to Rufus who now decided to turn his head back to him, with a tinnier grin than before but still- the grin was there

“oh? And how do you want to know that, Mr. Snob?” Rufus asked, closing the distance between them as he stepped a bit closer to him, laying his forehead now against the pale mans one to get a close look of his face- but also to see him once again- blushing deeply

“oh you know. Real facts and a bit of thinking- something that you might never heard of” Cletus replied, the grin growing a tiny bit as he slowly moved his hands along Rufuses arms, before resting them onto said mans shoulders “if you don't mind me asking..what are you up to now?” he asked as he inspected the other mans face

he must say that in this kind of angle. He looked amazing. Together with the moonshine that shined behind him- it was almost like a precious painting from someone so talented, that it would make everyone speechless- the way Rufus looks in this moment cant be described in words- in Cletuses opinion of course

Cletus wasn't the only one who was inspecting someones face. Rufus was doing the same. Admiring the other mans face features- his soft pale skin that were painted in a soft rosy red due to his blush- his half closed eyes, some strands of hair were hanging in his face but his eyes soon fixated on the other mans soft lips

it is no secret to anyone that Cletus cares a lot about his body, so the fact that his face would be clean and soft was something he wasn't very surprised about. Sometimes he would have seen Cletus with a face mask or treating his face in other ways- either with some products or just creaming it with a cream

but seeing him now so close again, together with the moonshine that shined from behind him. He looked so good. Rufus could feel his heart starting to pound against his chest with each passing second that he looked at Cletus.

Rufus inched a tiny bit closer towards Cletus , his hands now resting softly onto the pale mans waist- hesitating at first but then relaxing as soon as his hands were placed onto them “t-this is okay- right?” he asked quietly, only feeling Cletuses head move a tiny bit as he nodded 

“its perfect..” Cletus soon added as he loosened his grip from Rufuses shoulders and instead wrapped his arms around the other mans neck loosely, so that if things would be too much for one of them, it was easy to back off from

however, this wasn't the case for both of them. They were comfortable with this. Extremely comfortable in fact

“C-cletus?” Rufus asked quietly, almost whispering as his eyes were still fixated onto the others lips

“hm?” Cletus, of course noticed this. A soft smile grew on his lips as he soon pressed his arms a tiny bit against Rufus, almost like he is encouraging him to do the next step

Rufus, understanding the gesture. Inched a tiny bit closer before finally closing the distance between them fully, causing their lips to press against each other softly- almost shyly even

Cletus shut his eyes calmly as his heart began to pound like crazy- he wasn't the only one however- since Rufus pretty much did the same thing before slowly applying more pressure onto the kiss, causing it to be now less shy and more like a real kiss

Cletus tightened his grip around Rufuses neck, and so did Rufus with Cletuses waist, pulling him softly towards himself, trying to close every tiny inch of distance between themselves

there shouldn't be any distance. No interrupts. Nothing.

All there has to be is this moment. Nothing else

everything around them was blank. As it should be. They have each other in this moment and they need nothing else

The kiss grew a bit more passionate as both of them stopped hesitating- of course they still were but both of them seemed to relax, and that was a good thing

however, the kiss soon had to end as the oxygen went out for Rufus, pulling his head away only a tiny bit to be still close to Cletus, however before Cletus could say anything. Rufus quickly closed the distance once again, locking their lips once again as his hands tightened their grip a tiny bit more before lowering themselves onto the pale mans hips

he seems to be enjoying this kiss..Cletus does so as well

Cletus tensed up at the sudden kiss for a second, before melting back into Rufuses touch, who was once again pulling Cletus close to himself- causing the kiss to deepen a tiny bit- in return Cletus locked his arms tighter around the mans Neck, closing his eyes a bit harder than before as he felt his face turning hot from all the blushing

the longer the kiss went, the more passionate it grew- however both of them were still holding back a bit to not let anything grow out of control too quickly, even if both wanted to let it grow out of control at this point

however, oxygen was soon once again a problem, causing both of them to pull away to catch some air

both of them were panting softly, their face still rather close to each other, due of them holding each other rather close to one another. However- Rufus begann to grin a tiny bit

“lets leave this party.” Rufus whispered 

“huh?” Cletus replied at what Rufus said, of course whispering. Still panting a tiny bit though before he felt Rufus tapping his hips a tiny bit, causing him to quickly glance towards the hand

“i said. Lets leave this party. I don't think you want to go back up there and its boring anyways, or do you?” 

“..no..actually not.. and by this time- it is probably just dancing..”

“see? And we can dance alone..” Rufus said as he tightened his grip a tiny bit once again, causing Cletus to blush once again deeply

“b-but what about Goal?” Cletus stuttered out before hearing the soft giggle that escaped Rufus “i can still text here..so don't worry about it” he said, before planting a soft kiss onto Cletuses soft cheek, grinning against it softly “now. Do you want to go or not?” he asked, whispering once again before hearing the answer that he wanted to hear

“yes. I do.”


	20. Walking

“great, that is what I wanted to hear” Rufus chuckled a tiny bit, before finally removing himself from Cletus a tiny bit, before taking a step back as well

Cletus still was leaning against the pillar, following Rufuses movements closely before starting to take a step away from the pillar as well

it felt like fireworks were going off inside of him- he still cant really believe that all of this was happening if he was being serious to himself

Rufus on the other hand, who seemed a bit calmer about this, held out his hand towards Cletus, showing that he would like to hold hands when walking back to their place

Cletus, of course without hesitation, placed his hand onto Rufuses, only to then hold onto it softly- Rufus returned the same gesture and smiled towards Cletus, his face still heated up from all the blushing

Cletus couldn't help himself to just admire him, he looked so beautiful and so handsome, he knows that in his past he despised him- that he could never imagine having to do anything with Rufus

how times have changed

“ready to go, snobby?” Rufus grinned a bit, only to be rewarded by a tiny chuckle that escaped Cletuses lips

“yes, gladly.” he mumbled towards Rufus as both of them now began walking

walking away from the party

walking away from everyone else

they can wait after all

both of them were rather quiet, holding onto eachothers hand as they began to walk close together

“you know..i still can't really believe it” Cletus said, trying to break the silence between them “i mean- if you think back, would you have ever thought that this would happen to us?” Cletus asked as he turned his head towards Rufus, only to see him grinning a tiny bit before using his free hand to ruffle his own hair a bit

“well, actually not.” he answered, only to soon add something to it “to be honest, when I woke up in the Hospital bed, I was about to just punch you” he admitted, laughing a tiny bit as he heard Cletus let out a tiny laugh as well

“well, I can't blame you really”

“huh? Why?”

“you see, back then in the motor, I took your chance of going to Elysium- the chance of living together with goal like you used to dream of- also I was pretty much a prick to you and you can't deny that” Cletus mumbled a bit, only to then let out a tiny sigh “i know that we both set down our weapons and that you already forgave me- also that you moved on from it, but yet I still wanted to apologize for my actions back then”

Rufus blinked a tiny bit as he stopped in his steps, causing Cletus to quickly stop as well and quickly turn towards Rufus, who also let go off his hand

did he say something wrong

“you are an Idiot, you know that” Rufus mumbled before he placed his hands onto Cletuses shoulders, causing the man to quickly turn his gaze towards Rufus

“you are right that I moved on and that I forgave you. And I have to agree that you used to be a big prick to me back then- but that was back then. That was the past. And the past isn't now, is it?”

“it's not but-”

“then how about you cool down and stop living in the past. It will only make you feel blue. The dreams I had back then aren't my dreams now- besides the whole Elysium dream, but that dream is already true. The dream I had with Goal is gone- and i'm not even sad about it anymore, shes happy with Toni” Rufus explained in a calm tone

however he wasn't finished, only taking a short pause to move both of his hands onto Cletuses cheeks, making the pale man look into the other mans face

“my dream now is to live with you on Elysium, as your boyfriend. Nothing else- okay maybe still work on some inventions later- but my biggest dream of them all is being with you. So stop living in the past you dummy”

Cletus couldn't help but to lower his head a tiny bit before letting out a sigh, Rufus was right, he shouldn't keep thinking of the past and what had happened, he has to let it go like Rufus did

“you're rigth..” Cletus mumbled, only to turn his head into one of Rufuses hands, nuzzling into it almost as he placed one of his hands onto said hand

Rufus- smiling from seeing Cletus like this- also hearing that he was right- let out a tiny chuckle before leaning in and giving Cletuses cheek a soft peck

“lets go back home now, its starting to get cold” Rufus said, before removing his hands from Cletuses face, only to then wrap his arm around Cletuses shoulder, almost like he is holding him a tiny bit

The pale man only nodded before returning a soft peck onto Rufuses cheek

“whatever you say, handsome”

“nicknames eh?” Rufus said with a tiny chuckle as both of them began to walk again, only to feel Cletus wrapping his arm around Rufuses waist to hold onto him as well 

“if it doesn't make you feel weird-” Cletus was about to say, he was quickly interrupted by Rufus once again

“nah, I like it, babe” 

'babe'

huh...

Cletus can get used to it..

it's nice...


	21. back home

Click

a soft clicking noise echoed throughout Cletuses house as said man unlocked the door, before opening the door and holding it open

both of the men finally arrived at Cletuses home after walking away from the party together- the walk was something nice and relaxing together.

Both of them had talked about their feelings more clearer as well, it was obvious that both of them really wanted this relationship and it made Cletus happy. He used to fear that Rufus would feel the complete opposite but now- now he is just glad he told him and things turned out like he hoped for

and right now

he was just glad both of them were home

Rufus was the first one to step in, only to quickly remove his jacket and throwing it onto the couch- followed by himself as well as he threw himself onto the couch as well “finally out of that thing” he sighed out as he leaned his head back

he must really hated to wear this suit huh?

Cletus couldn't help himself but to chuckle a bit at that, closing the door at the same time after he had stepped in “come on, it wasn't that bad” he said, walking towards the couch to pick up the jacket and fold it nicely- as well being watched closely by Rufus as he did so

“I'm just not a suit guy, I told you that before” Rufus said with a slight shrug before he followed Cletus closely with his eyes, only to see him sitting down right next to him down onto the couch

“well, for you not being a suit-type, I have to admit that you look quite good in them.” Cletus said, grinning a tiny bit as he saw the blush forming on Rufuses cheek. He looks good with a bit of a red color in his face, he looks in general really good

“also, what I have to admit on is that you are quite the good kisser, I didn't expect you to be...you know, that good” Cletus said after a few moments of silence, causing himself to blush as well as he thought about their first kiss which they shared just an hour ago

Rufus blinked for a moment before turning his head towards Cletus with a rather surprised expression “you think so?”

“yeah, if I have to use your kind of language, I would say you were 'rocking' this kiss” Cletus smiled a tiny bit as he saw Rufus blushing a bit more, only to smile back at the pale man “oh stop it, babe”

there it was again

babe

Cletus couldn't help but to blush once again at that word, it felt nice to be called like that

Rufus did notice the blush however and tilted his head a bit “you don't like it when I say babe?”

“what? Nono- I like it a lot, it is just a bit...new and such! It's nice” Cletus quickly said as he only started to blush harder, however Rufus did seem pleased with the answer- letting out a soft chuckle as he inched closer a tiny bit, wrapping his arm around Cletuses waist to pull him closer as well

“well, that is good then, babe”

together with the position change and the once again said 'babe' Cletuses face was pretty much completely colored in a rosy red color. However, he didn't mind it at all, in fact he liked the closeness once again..

“okay then, darling.” Cletus chuckled softly as he placed his hand onto Rufuses chest as he moved a tiny bit closer to him again. Cletus wasn't the only one who was chuckling however, Rufus did so as well as he heard the nickname that he now got

Darling.

He could have guessed that he would come with such a name!

“i could have guessed that you would pick that nickname” Rufus said with a tiny chuckle, which Cletus soon joined afterwards “however, you might not be the only one here who knows all the gentlemen moves here”

“oh?” Cletus asked, raising his eyebrows as his gaze quickly went to Rufus.

Rufus in the meantime took a hold of Cletuses soft hand, which wasn't covered in his gloves for this night. Holding it gently in his hand he raised it towards his mouth, only to kiss Cletuses knuckles softly “I hope this is gentleman enough for your taste” he spoke softly against his hand

Cletus blinked slowly as he watched him closely before he laughed out softly, releasing his hand from Rufuses grip before placing it onto the other mans cheek, stroking it softly “it's perfect..” he said as he admired Rufuses face

“you know, you don't have to be a full on gentleman around me”

“i know” Rufus chuckled a tiny bit as he placed his own hand onto Cletuses, which was still pretty much resting on his face at this point

“and you also know that you can kiss me instead of my Knuckles too, right?” Cletus said, once again moving closer to Rufus- which was caught off guard for a tiny moment

however, it soon turned onto a tiny grin as he took a hand of Cletuses hand gently, before moving himself closer to him as well

pressing his lips against Cletuses soft lips, immediately melting once again at the feeling of it- but Rufus wasn't the only one who was feeling that

for Cletus is felt like fireworks were going off inside of him once again

however, the soft and shy kissing quickly turned into a more passionate way of kissing, both of them also started to move closer and closer to each other as they held their hands harder

of course, due to oxygen they had to break the kiss- but that didn't stop them to shortly after kiss each other again.

They didn't want it to stop at all cost

it was perfect the way it is

each passing second the kiss grew more and more heated, in the meantime Cletuses free hand was almost grabbing onto Rufuses arm, almost like he is supporting himself not to literally melt into the kiss

however soon the kiss broke, once again the same problem, but they didn't immediately went back to kissing. Both of them was breathing heavy, due to the lack of oxygen and because of the fact that the mood was quite heated as well

“you're so beautiful..” Cletus whispered to the man infront of him who looked at him with half closed eyes and red face

“shut it..” Rufus mumbled as he soon pressed his lips once again onto the pale mans one while his two hands placed themselves onto Cletuses waist, pulling him yet again closer to himself

there was no interruption

it was just them

and that was perfect.


	22. Sleepy

A soft groan escaped the pale mans lips as he got woken up by the sunshine that shined through his open window

Normally Cletus would have closed the curtains that prevented the sunshine to shine across his face in the morning- but yesterday he didn't think about that

yesterday

a soft blush formed on his cheek as he thought about last night

just to be clear- nothing happened. They just moved to a different room, continued to kiss and that was it. Nothing more.

Maybe it was Rufuses plan to let things go more...chaotic- but changed plans afterwards?

Cletus doesn't care really, the night was good the way it was anyways

the only complain he might have- which isn't that big of a deal really- was the little spot that he now was sporting on his neck

yeah. Rufus did end up giving a hickey for- and quote: 'researching to see how it would look on you'

he cupped the spot softly as he used his other hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes, which were still half closed due to his heavy eyelids..

not long after he finally did wake up fully now, he turned around in his bed- only to then be greeted by his now boyfriend

boyfriend

it still sounds so unreal to be true

Cletus inspected the sleeping man infront of him, who was in fact very deep in his slumber

but yet, despite the fact that he was sleeping like a rock, he looked beautiful. The sun only shined slightly onto his face, showing off his face structure a tiny bit better because of that

he almost looked like a painting of a artist that made a masterpeice.

His hair was a mess, but yet it suited him so well..not only because he is a mess himself and he was rocking it..

Cletus moved one of his hands slowly towards the other mans face, moving some of the hair away from his face which was hanging loosely in his face to get a much better look at him

cupping his cheek now softly, stroking his skin at the same time he let out a soft sigh as he continued to watch him sleep peacefully

how much will things change now? Will things be still the same just before they dated? He hopes so actually! They did have a nice time after all..especially the mornings were cozy and nice

Cletus was pulled away from his thoughts as he heard Rufus chuckle a tiny bit- how long was he awake!?

Cletus quickly pulled his hand away as he started to blush in embarrassment, starring at the man in front of him who just gave him a lazy and sleepy smile “morning..” he mumbled out

Cletus was quiet for a moment before nodding a tiny bit “morning” he said almost rushing, only to hear Rufus chuckle once again

“you look so cute when you are all embarrassed- also when you are deep in thoughts..” Rufus continued to mumbled, still very sleepy since he just woke up. But that didn't stop him from grinning at Cletus- who was blushing a tiny bit harder 

“oh shush”

Cletus mumbled “can't help it when you look so peaceful when you sleep” he 'complained'

“oh, watching me sleep now? Isn't that a bit creepy?” Rufus joked, only to receive a tiny glare from Cletus- which he only brushed off by chuckling again and wrapping his arms around him, pulling the pale man close to himself

“Rufus, I got to make breakfast”

“breakfast can wait” Rufus complained as he placed his head onto Cletuses shoulder, snuggling up to him even as he held him in his arms, almost like he was cuddling him

he did have a point

and this felt kind of nice after all

“god..i hate it when you win” Cletus mumbled to Rufus, only to lean back a tiny bit and letting Rufus snuggle him- like a kid would with a teddy bear

“you look good with the hickey”

“shut it”


	23. Pancakes

Cletus must have fallen back asleep, because as soon as he opened his eyes, the bedroom was empty and the sun seemed to have gone up a tiny bit as well...it most obvious factor however was that some time has passed as well

to be exact, another hour and few minutes had passed

sitting up slowly while he placed one of his hands against his forehead, he began to examine the room with half closed and still sleep filled eyes

everything was where it should be

just Rufus wasn't with him in bed anymore

Cletus sat quietly in bed for a moment, trying to force himself to get out of the cozy and warm bed that he was currently in- only to step in a more colder world

he knows that he can't keep laying in bed- even if Rufus would deny that with the argument 'you can, but you decide not to'

turning around, only to step out of bed- placing his feet down onto his carpet that he had directly under his bed and stood up

from last night- most clothes were already on the floor...normally Cletus wouldn't even think of placing his clothes onto the floor..but he can make exceptions

however- it did bother him, so before even getting dressed he started to pick up each signle piece of clothing, folding it nicely and placing in on one of the chairs- which were fitting to the aesthetic of his room of course

after finally bringing back the order that he likes, he walked towards his wall closet, opening it to pull out a white button shirt and fitting teal pants- even his casual clothes are still colored in the Elysian colors, why should it be different? He likes them after all!

Making sure that everything looked good, he ran his hand through his hair to at least make it seem somewhat styled, only to then finally leave the bedroom

…

pancakes?

Cletus knows the smell of pancakes very good, there used to be a time where he made himself each Monday some so that his week could start positive- one of the many tries on making his weeks somewhat positive

Cletus stepped into the kitchen, knowing already what might be standing- or well sitting at the kitchen table for him

and yep, he wasn't wrong

Rufus  
Rufus at first didn't notice the other man who had walked into the kitchen, his eyes were pretty much pointed- almost glued into the newspaper that he had opened, but as soon as he heard the soft chuckle of the pale man he quickly looked up

“oh, sleeping beauty is finally awake!” Rufus said with a tiny grin as he let out a soft laugh as well

Cletus sighed, smiling a tiny bit as he did before he crossed his arms “don't say it like that, you are flattering me”

“in that case I might as well say such things”

“oh shut it” Cletus said, once again laughing a tiny bit as he sat down onto the chair right next to Rufus “anything new?”

“ah not much really, the usual stuff” Rufus mumbled as he closed the newspaper, only to place them a bit further away- and to of course pull the plate of pancakes closer that was waiting for the pale man

“made you some breakfast” Rufus said with a soft smile as he saw Cletus looking at the plate “you did tell me you used to start your week with some..soo”

“oh Rufus...you shouldn't have” Cletus joked a tiny bit as he turned around and gave Rufus a soft peck on his cheek “thank you”

“aye..” Rufus mumbled with a smile, a soft blush starting to form on his cheek as he spoke “you did make me breakfast all the time when I was still recovering, now its my turn to spoil you”

“i wouldn't say I spoiled you-”

“shush” Rufus silenced him with a boop on his cheek “my turn. No whining”

Cletus looked at im, blinking for a second before laughing a bit once again “okay okay, you won.”


	24. Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this fanfiction  
> it was a blast and i want to thank everyone for the support!  
> it really meant alot to me

Things had changed between the two man that once hated each other to the guts

feelings, views, actions and even thoughts have changed ever since each of them started to feel feelings for each other

of course, they were aware that people might have other opinions about it, since they were clones and such things

but did they care?

They didn't

they didn't give a single fuck about the others

their Friends, which they had made along the path of Rufus getting to Elysium, seemed quite surprised but yet supportive

of course, for some of them it was less of a surprise, they could have guessed by the way they often interacted that things might happen like this

Goal, who had the whole idea of letting Rufus move in with Cletus, was one of the persons that seemed more than just happy, not only did they show support to her, when she came out being in a relationship with Toni, they also helped her even having such a life

so of course they got her full support on this

and that was what they wanted

to live like they wanted to

to not have to worry about what the others think

and each day was something else, even if it was just tiny things

who made the breakfast, who gave the first morning kiss on the others forehead and so on

they were cheesy

they didn't care though

they were happy and that is all it took

“i love you” said the pale man, reaching his hand out to hold Rufuses gently, only to feel the other man holding onto his as well

“oh? Is that so? That's embarrassing” Rufus joked, only to receive a slight shoulder punch, it was soft, nothing that could hurt him or anything- also meant to be playful

“oh shut it” Cletus replied, using his thumb to stroke the skin of Rufuses hand as he held it still in his gloveless hand

“hmmm, you like my jokes though”

“i didn't say I hated them” Cletus corrected Rufus with a tiny hum, only to hear Rufus chuckle a tiny bit

“i know” Rufus said, a soft smile painted across his lips before he finally responded to what Cletus wanted to hear

“i love you too”


End file.
